Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Purchases New Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after purchasing an additional 542,149 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 23.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,051,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,146,000 after purchasing an additional 391,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $41,243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,800 shares of company stock worth $5,165,690. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $121.09 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.32 and a twelve month high of $127.51.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given 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 was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

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.