Insider Selling: Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Director Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Joseph Casey sold 10,000 Eastern Bankshares shares at an average price of $22.96, generating $229,600 and reducing his position by 12.18% to 72,079 shares.
• Eastern Bankshares reported quarterly earnings of $0.49 per share, beating estimates by $0.03, while revenue of $316.01 million also exceeded forecasts. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, equivalent to a 2.7% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with six Buy ratings and three Holds and an average price target of $24.86 versus the stock’s recent price of $22.64; institutional investors own 71.68% of the shares.

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) Director Joseph Casey sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total transaction of $229,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 72,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,933.84. The trade was a 12.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $22.64. 1,587,056 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,539,358. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.94. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.50 and a 1 year high of $23.77. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $316.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%. Equities analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares's payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EBC shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens cut Eastern Bankshares from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.86.

Institutional Trading of Eastern Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth approximately $498,672,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company's stock worth $253,018,000 after acquiring an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,552,160 shares of the company's stock worth $176,048,000 after acquiring an additional 939,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,919,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,304 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Eastern Bankshares

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.

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