Vest Financial LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Vest Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 20.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,127 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.06% of Eastern Bankshares worth $1,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 90.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 11.9% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,458,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,264,000 after purchasing an additional 155,363 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 9.7% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 40,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 43.2% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 8.0% in the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 26,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of EBC stock opened at $18.86 on Wednesday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $13.51 and a one year high of $19.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -60.84 and a beta of 0.95.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter. Eastern Bankshares had a negative net margin of 6.49% and a positive return on equity of 7.35%. The firm had revenue of $162.26 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is -167.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller purchased 13,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.07 per share, with a total value of $233,961.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 13,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,961.42. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.50.

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.