Stephens Inc. AR Sells 250 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.9% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $108.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.23%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.