Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 84,289 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 71.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,185 shares of the company’s stock after selling 84,289 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 3,791 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth approximately $220,000. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.9 %

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $16.59 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.22 and a 52-week high of $19.40. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.58 and its 200 day moving average is $17.34.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 6.02%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is 71.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, CFO R David Rosato acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $308,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.