FORA Capital LLC Takes $314,000 Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EBC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth $25,000. PFS Partners LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth $32,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter worth $35,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 1,155.9% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 4,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 3,988 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

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

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $299.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 38.00% and a return on equity of 4.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.97%.

Eastern Bankshares Company 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.