ABN Amro Investment Solutions Cuts Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

ABN Amro Investment Solutions trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,700 shares during the quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 approximately $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $123.12 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.26 and a twelve month high of $127.51. The firm has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

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.