Diversified Trust Co Increases Stock Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 20,971 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 257,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,600,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 109,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 10,322 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 44,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 9.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 291,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 24,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 24.8% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 344,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,814,000 after purchasing an additional 68,328 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ:EBC opened at $16.60 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.22 and a 12-month high of $19.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.60.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $299.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 38.00% and a return on equity of 4.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Deborah C. Jackson sold 5,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.56, for a total value of $106,033.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 67,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,791.04. This represents a 7.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.