Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $15.79, but opened at $14.65. Eastern Bankshares shares last traded at $14.96, with a volume of 343,219 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50-day moving average is $15.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.15.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 6.02%. The business had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $226.98 million. Equities analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be given a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO R David Rosato acquired 10,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the first quarter valued at $463,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 46,245 shares of the company's stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 18,572 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth about $277,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

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.