Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 4,226 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,226 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 in the last ninety days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $131.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $136.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.00.

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.