Jennison Associates LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 28.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,846,216 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,535,094 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 2.92% of Eastern Bankshares worth $133,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,254,000 after purchasing an additional 54,664 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the first quarter valued at about $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 5,028 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,091,000 after purchasing an additional 29,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,948,000 after purchasing an additional 484,277 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EBC opened at $23.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.67. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.88 and a 1-year high of $23.53.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 26.28%.The business had revenue of $295.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.68 million. On average, research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EBC. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.08.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, one of the oldest and largest mutual banks in the United States. Founded in 1818 as Salem Savings Bank and later rebranded as Eastern Bank in 1989, the company preserved its mutual ownership structure for more than two centuries. In March 2020, it completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker EBC, while continuing to emphasize its community-focused heritage.

Through its primary subsidiary, Eastern Bank, the company delivers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking products.