Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Shares Acquired by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 5,933.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,842 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 100,154 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $1,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EBC. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 44,452 shares of the company's stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,866 shares of the company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ EBC traded down $0.60 on Thursday, reaching $18.19. 1,445,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,016,178. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $11.25 and a one year high of $18.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $16.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.12.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 38.00%. The firm had revenue of $299.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $215.92 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on EBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

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.