Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 130,575 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 130,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,182,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.10% of East West Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $132.41 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.30 and a 1 year high of $137.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.13 and a 200-day moving average of $123.13.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.75%. The company had revenue of $822.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,810 shares of company stock worth $1,564,344. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is the parent company of East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. The bank serves businesses, professionals, consumers and institutions through a range of deposit, lending and financial services.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential and consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, treasury management, international banking, wealth management and foreign-exchange services.