<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of &#34;Hold&#34; by the six ratings firms that are currently  covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst  has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued  a hold rating and three have issued  a buy rating on  the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.6667.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Eastern Bankshares</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><p>A number of research analysts have recently commented on EBC shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong sell&#34; rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods  restated an &#34;outperform&#34; rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, December 5th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a &#34;buy&#34; rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday. They issued an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings  restated a &#34;hold (c)&#34; rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Research Report on Eastern Bankshares</b></p><h2>Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 0.1%</h2><p>Shares of EBC traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $19.12. 284,043 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,808,647. Eastern Bankshares has a 1 year low of $13.51 and a 1 year high of $20.19. The stock's 50 day moving average is $18.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.48 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. </p><p>Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $162.26 million for the quarter. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 4.97%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that  Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year. </p><h2>Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 208.00%. </p><h2>Insiders Place Their Bets</h2><p>In related news, CFO R David Rosato bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.08 per share, for a total transaction of $170,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $512,400. This represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $6,142,332.13. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $687,211.36. This trade represents a 89.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders. </p><h2>Institutional Trading of Eastern Bankshares</h2><p>A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBC. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in  Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter.  CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of  Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $381,000.  Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of  Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $94,000.  Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in  Eastern Bankshares by 49.9% in the third quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 38,433 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 12,793 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC bought a new stake in  Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter valued at about $182,000. Institutional investors own  71.68% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Eastern Bankshares Company Profile</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Eastern Bankshares</li><li>How to Short Nasdaq: An Easy-to-Follow Guide</li><li>4 Quantum Stocks to Watch as the Next Computing Revolution Unfolds</li><li>Are Penny Stocks a Good Fit for Your Portfolio?</li><li>Massive Breakout in Industrials: 3 Must-Watch Stocks Now</li><li>3 Natural Gas Stocks That Offer Great Dividend Yields</li><li>3 Tech Stocks Down Over 60%—Which One Is Worth Buying?</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9RUJD?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="600" height="385" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9RUJD"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Eastern Bankshares Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Eastern Bankshares, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Eastern Bankshares wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Eastern Bankshares currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) has received a consensus "Hold" rating from six ratings firms. The stock has one "sell," two "hold," and three "buy" ratings. The average 1-year target price is $21.67. Recent analyst actions include a downgrade by Zacks Research to "strong sell" and new coverage by Barclays with an "equal weight" rating and a $22 target. The stock is trading at $19.12, with a market cap of $4.03 billion. The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share.</p>

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages