Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,697,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,152 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $152,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 2,539 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 427.9% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 14,206 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 78,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,482,000 after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $101.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.65. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.The business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $702.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.15.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.