Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,806 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Eastern Bankshares worth $3,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 3,791 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $172,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter valued at about $180,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $16.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 0.95. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.22 and a 12-month high of $19.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.37.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 6.02% and a net margin of 11.07%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is 71.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.40 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Profile

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.