Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 90,293 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,122,356 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 90,293 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.37% of Eastern Bankshares worth $347,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 24,234 shares of the company's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 127.8% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,800 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 20,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

EBC traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,468,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,202. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.09 and a 200-day moving average of $17.29. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $12.22 and a one year high of $19.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30 and a beta of 0.96.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 6.02% and a net margin of 11.07%. Equities research analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,000. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares 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.