Insider Selling: Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) President Sells $755,040.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Eastern Bankshares President Quincy Miller sold 33,000 shares for $755,040, at an average price of $22.88. After the sale, he directly owned 33,538 shares, a 49.6% reduction in his holdings.
• The company’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, reporting earnings of $0.51 per share versus a $0.49 consensus and revenue of $311.69 million versus $310.60 million expected.
• Eastern Bankshares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% annualized yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $25.14.

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) President Quincy Miller sold 33,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total value of $755,040.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 33,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $767,349.44. This represents a 49.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBC traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,886,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,478,790. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.14. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.03 and a 1-year high of $23.78.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $311.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.60 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 24.04%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 32.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 857 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 14,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,382 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,305 shares of the company's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EBC shares. Stephens downgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.14.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Boston. The company provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, loans, cash management and digital banking.

Through its banking and affiliated businesses, Eastern also offers commercial lending, wealth management and insurance services. Its operations primarily serve businesses, individuals and organizations in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

Eastern Bank traces its roots to 1818 and operated as a mutual bank for more than two centuries before becoming publicly traded in 2020.

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