David Andrew Ahlquist Sells 10,000 Shares of Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock

Key Points

  • Insider sale: CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares on February 5 at an average price of $21.65 for $216,500, cutting his stake by 51.23% to 9,518 shares (valued ≈ $206,065).
  • Dividend and results: Eastern declared a $0.13 quarterly dividend (ex-dividend March 6) for a 2.4% yield but a high payout ratio of 126.83%; the company reported $0.44 EPS (beat $0.41) while revenue missed at $243.4M versus $287.09M expected.
  • Market/ownership context: Shares trade near the high end of the 52-week range (current price ≈ $21.64), consensus analyst rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $22.13 target, and institutional investors own about 71.68% of the stock (Vanguard holds ~21.87M shares).

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,518 shares in the company, valued at $206,064.70. The trade was a 51.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $21.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.00. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.51 and a fifty-two week high of $22.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.79 and a beta of 0.81.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 8.32%.The company had revenue of $243.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.09 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend




The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is 126.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EBC shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $22.50 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.13.

View Our Latest Research Report on EBC

Institutional Trading of Eastern Bankshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 6,408,772 shares of the company's stock worth $116,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,272 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,311,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,884,000 after purchasing an additional 992,160 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,732,472 shares of the company's stock worth $72,274,000 after buying an additional 31,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,601,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,220,000 after acquiring an additional 847,891 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Eastern Bankshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, one of the oldest and largest mutual banks in the United States. Founded in 1818 as Salem Savings Bank and later rebranded as Eastern Bank in 1989, the company preserved its mutual ownership structure for more than two centuries. In March 2020, it completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker EBC, while continuing to emphasize its community-focused heritage.

Through its primary subsidiary, Eastern Bank, the company delivers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking products.

Further Reading

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