Invesco Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Invesco Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,304,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 378,615 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.07% of East West Bancorp worth $1,096,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 4.5% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its position in East West Bancorp by 15.7% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.1%

EWBC opened at $105.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.52. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $123.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.90, for a total transaction of $848,896.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,762,824.60. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,221 shares of company stock valued at $9,431,089. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.21.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.