AIA Group Ltd Acquires 2,629 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,629 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 69,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,590,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.5 %

EWBC stock opened at $72.88 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.70. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.12 and a 12 month high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $654.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.91 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 26.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.15.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.