Tobam Has $611,000 Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Tobam boosted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 25,795.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,417 shares during the period. Tobam’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after buying an additional 19,178 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 over the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. 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. Citigroup increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $126.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.67 and a 52-week high of $136.00. The firm has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $123.12 and its 200 day moving average is $116.37.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

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.