Eastern Bankshares, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.13 (NASDAQ:EBC)

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share on Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th.

Eastern Bankshares has a dividend payout ratio of 27.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Eastern Bankshares to earn $1.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.2%.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 492,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,422. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.11 and a beta of 0.81. Eastern Bankshares has a 12-month low of $13.51 and a 12-month high of $20.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 4.97% and a return on equity of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $243.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. On average, analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastern Bankshares news, insider Robert Francis Rivers bought 50,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.21 per share, for a total transaction of $860,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 403,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,940,345.54. This trade represents a 14.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.08 per share, for a total transaction of $170,800.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,400. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EBC. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $79,534,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,680,000. FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $17,721,000. Azora Capital LP raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 54.5% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,597,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,151,000 after purchasing an additional 916,875 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 48.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,601,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,220,000 after purchasing an additional 847,891 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.