Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 15,590 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,590 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.06% of Eastern Bankshares worth $2,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EBC. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 3rd quarter worth approximately $180,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $16.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.54 and its 200 day moving average is $17.35. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $12.22 and a one year high of $19.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00 and a beta of 0.95.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 71.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,000. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.