Schroder Investment Management Group Has $361.88 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 334,429 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $361,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.7% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.0% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $106.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.51. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $123.82. The firm has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Zacks Research downgraded East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. UBS Group set a $125.00 price objective on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Barclays increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 12,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $1,442,905.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 93,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,714,205. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.