Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 74.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 338,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 144,100 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $37,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.1%

EWBC opened at $120.94 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $88.26 and a one year high of $127.51.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.36.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Company 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.