Comerica Bank Sells 35,775 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Comerica Bank decreased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,775 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 132.6% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 11,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 6,284 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 20,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,264,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 570,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,084,000 after acquiring an additional 32,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,899,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EWBC shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $125.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.21 and a 1 year high of $127.52. The company has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.03.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total transaction of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at $643,842.68. This represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,021 shares of company stock worth $7,365,277. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.