East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Purchased by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3,297.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,447 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $125.94 on Monday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.79 and a 52-week high of $127.51. The company has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $119.01 and its 200-day moving average is $114.73. 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 (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $773.75 million during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on EWBC shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,800 shares of company stock worth $5,165,690. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.