MBL Wealth LLC Purchases 6,840 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

MBL Wealth LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $848,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $1,744,958,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $221,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $130,744,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $36,995,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 503.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 263,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,113,000 after purchasing an additional 219,700 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of EWBC opened at $131.19 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.08 and a 52-week high of $137.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $128.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.99. The stock has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $822.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.07 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.75% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EWBC. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $105,624.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,386,021.60. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,810 shares of company stock worth $1,564,344. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is the parent company of East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. The bank serves businesses, professionals, consumers and institutions through a range of deposit, lending and financial services.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential and consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, treasury management, international banking, wealth management and foreign-exchange services.