Systematic Financial Management LP Purchases Shares of 248,750 Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 248,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,478,000. Systematic Financial Management LP owned approximately 0.14% of Eastern Bankshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,543,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1,965.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,622,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544,181 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,835,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,599,000 after acquiring an additional 950,150 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,079,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,065,000 after acquiring an additional 764,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,993,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,248,000 after acquiring an additional 576,381 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was 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 can be accessed through this link. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $16.11 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.44. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.89. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.65 and a twelve month high of $17.26.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 5.06% and a net margin of 48.38%. The business had revenue of $232.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.45 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. Analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.44%.

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.