Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Stake Lessened by Whalerock Point Partners LLC

Whalerock Point Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,247 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,097 shares during the quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 24,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 20,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 6.5 %

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $14.77 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.54 and a 52 week high of $19.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.96.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 6.02% and a net margin of 11.07%. The business had revenue of $222.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $226.98 million. Research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 71.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $308,000. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.