Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $67.60 Million Stock Holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 24.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,835,761 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 950,150 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.74% of Eastern Bankshares worth $67,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted 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. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 6.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 0.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 257,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total value of $211,182.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on EBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EBC opened at $16.11 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.65 and a 1 year high of $17.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.09 and a 200-day moving average of $14.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.89.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $232.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.45 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 48.38% and a return on equity of 5.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

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

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.