Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 48,456 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 152.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,311 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,456 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $1,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 127.8% in the third 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 acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $16.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 0.95. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.22 and a 12-month high of $19.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.58 and its 200 day moving average is $17.34.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 6.02% and a net margin of 11.07%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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.

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.