Northeast Investment Management Acquires New Stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Northeast Investment Management purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 101,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 44,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth $25,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 6.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 2,173 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total transaction of $211,182.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $16.32 on Monday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.99 and a 1-year high of $17.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $16.50 and its 200-day moving average is $15.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.88.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 38.00% and a return on equity of 4.76%. The business had revenue of $299.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $215.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

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.