Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 241,710 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 1.2%, selling 241,710 shares and retaining ownership of approximately 19.88 million shares, worth $326 million.
• Eastern Bankshares reported earnings of $0.41 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.38.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13, with a yield of 3.3%, to be paid on September 15th to shareholders recorded by September 3rd.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,880,646 shares of the company's stock after selling 241,710 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.31% of Eastern Bankshares worth $326,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 92.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,815 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 836.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock traded down $0.06 on Thursday, reaching $15.85. 816,629 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,472,018. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $13.51 and a one year high of $19.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.13 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.53 and a 200 day moving average of $15.85.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a positive return on equity of 7.35% and a negative net margin of 6.49%.The company had revenue of $249.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $241.32 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is currently -167.74%.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.