William Blair Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. by 7.5%, bringing its ownership to approximately 1.04% of the company valued at $33.82 million.
• Analyst ratings for Eastern Bankshares are mixed, with three analysts giving it a Buy rating and one a Sell rating, resulting in a current average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $21.50.
• EBC stock is currently trading at $18.17, reflecting a 5.5% increase, with a market cap of $3.84 billion and a dividend yield of 2.9%.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,214,816 shares of the company's stock after selling 180,478 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.04% of Eastern Bankshares worth $33,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1.0% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,770,710 shares of the company's stock worth $160,240,000 after buying an additional 93,157 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,019,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,206 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,180,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,558,000 after purchasing an additional 469,743 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,847,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,297,000 after purchasing an additional 91,338 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,845,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,265,000 after purchasing an additional 53,968 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.50.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 5.5%

EBC stock opened at $18.17 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.51 and a fifty-two week high of $19.40. The business's 50 day moving average price is $17.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.61 and a beta of 0.95.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter. Eastern Bankshares had a positive return on equity of 7.35% and a negative net margin of 6.49%.The firm had revenue of $162.26 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. Eastern Bankshares's payout ratio is currently -167.74%.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller purchased 13,706 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.07 per share, with a total value of $233,961.42. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 13,706 shares in the company, valued at $233,961.42. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

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.

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