Fiera Capital Corp Acquires 127,972 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 33.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 515,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 127,972 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned about 0.37% of East West Bancorp worth $57,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $31,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 115.0% during 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. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of 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 stock has a market capitalization 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 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 has a fifty day moving average of $119.01 and a 200-day moving average of $114.73.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 41,800 shares of company stock valued at $5,165,690 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Citigroup upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

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.