Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Stake Cut by Raffles Associates LP

Raffles Associates LP cut its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 29.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148,202 shares during the period. Eastern Bankshares accounts for approximately 5.9% of Raffles Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Raffles Associates LP owned about 0.16% of Eastern Bankshares worth $5,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter valued at about $305,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 316,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,189,000 after purchasing an additional 10,377 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,733 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth $244,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth $314,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the business’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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $18.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 0.89. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.86 and a 52-week high of $19.40.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $299.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 38.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 yield of 2.58%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 18.97%.

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.