Gary Teo Sells 7,000 Shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $122.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $114.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.41. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $123.22.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $754.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group set a $125.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,807,000 after buying an additional 2,968,716 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,819,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,650,000 after acquiring an additional 86,171 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,313,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $459,210,000 after acquiring an additional 19,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More East West Bancorp News

Here are the key news stories impacting East West Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 (from $0.60), payable Feb. 17; annualized $3.20 and ~2.6–2.7% yield — a direct return to shareholders and signal of confidence in cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat expectations: $2.52 EPS vs. $2.48 expected and revenue of $754.9M vs. $745M consensus — improves near-term earnings credibility and supports valuation multiples.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive: multiple buy/overweight ratings and price-target increases (consensus target ~ $128) — supports upside narrative and may attract momentum buyers.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (~89.5%) and recent small fund flows show mixed adds and new positions — indicates largely stable long-term holder base but limited incremental catalyst from new institutional buying.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data appears effectively zero/immaterial in the latest snapshot — low short activity reduces risk of squeeze-driven volatility but also limits short-covering as a price tailwind.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares (~$5.9M at ~$117.82) and other insiders (EVP Gary Teo, Director Jack Liu, Director Molly Campbell) also reduced holdings — large insider sales can be read by the market as liquidity-taking and may weigh on sentiment if not explained (e.g., diversification, tax planning). CEO Form 4 EVP Form 4 Director Form 4 Director Form 4

About East West Bancorp

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.