Impax Asset Management Group plc Grows Holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 815,540 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 65,540 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 0.38% of Eastern Bankshares worth $13,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 283.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,474 shares of the company's stock worth $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 86,819 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $179,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth $162,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth $1,943,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 20.3% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 21,499 shares of the company's stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 3,634 shares in the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Eastern Bankshares from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total transaction of $211,182.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.45. 608,182 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,012,308. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.86 and a 1-year high of $19.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50 day moving average is $16.79 and its 200-day moving average is $15.37.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $299.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 38.00% and a return on equity of 4.49%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.69%.

Eastern Bankshares Company 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.