Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,066,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,015 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $113,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $31,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $133.92 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $136.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.06.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.31.

East West Bancorp Company 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.