Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Raises Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 12.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 239,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,302 shares during the quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $25,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 239,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 190.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 63,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,830,000 after acquiring an additional 41,951 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 5,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,010,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $131.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $136.00. The company has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $126.08 and its 200-day moving average is $118.30.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (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 net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. 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 at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.