UBS Group AG Purchases 1,292,857 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Key Points

• UBS Group AG sharply increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares, buying 1,292,857 additional shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holding to 1,810,225 shares, worth about $33.4 million.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.70; several firms recently reiterated or initiated Buy/Overweight ratings.
• Eastern Bankshares raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.13, implying a 3.0% annualized yield, even as its latest earnings came in below expectations.

UBS Group AG increased its position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 249.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,810,225 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,292,857 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.86% of Eastern Bankshares worth $33,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EBC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,254,000 after acquiring an additional 54,664 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 5,028 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,091,000 after acquiring an additional 29,781 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,948,000 after acquiring an additional 484,277 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EBC. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.70.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $20.06 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.10 and a 1 year high of $22.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.41.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The company had revenue of $295.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.68 million. Analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.17 per share, for a total transaction of $95,850.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $862,650. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, one of the oldest and largest mutual banks in the United States. Founded in 1818 as Salem Savings Bank and later rebranded as Eastern Bank in 1989, the company preserved its mutual ownership structure for more than two centuries. In March 2020, it completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker EBC, while continuing to emphasize its community-focused heritage.

Through its primary subsidiary, Eastern Bank, the company delivers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.