Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC Shares Acquired by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 440,192 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,466 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $9,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $22.24 on Monday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $16.61 and a one year high of $23.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.97. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm 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%. On average, analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at $464,987.25. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $227,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 62,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,434.88. This represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,609 shares of company stock valued at $1,529,281. Company insiders own 1.26% 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.