Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Shares Acquired by Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 70.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 818,641 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 338,164 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bankshares makes up approximately 2.5% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $13,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $25,000. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 1,155.9% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 4,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 3,988 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 18.3% during the third 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. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total value of $211,182.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

EBC stock opened at $18.45 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.86 and a 1 year high of $19.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.39.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its earnings results 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). Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 38.00% and a return on equity of 4.49%. The company had revenue of $299.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $18.50 in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

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.