Zhang Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 7,889 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 6.2% in the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $220,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $6,128,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 42.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 31,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,353,000 after acquiring an additional 9,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 33,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,536,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

EWBC opened at $134.52 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.89.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group raised 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.31.

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.