SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 61.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,195 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,400 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.08.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 3.8%

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $21.66 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.50 and its 200-day moving average is $20.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.88 and a 1 year high of $22.89. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.67.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $295.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. On average, equities analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Profile

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.