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

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,226 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the fourth 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. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $136.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the 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 represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.38.

About East West Bancorp

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.