Earnest Partners LLC Has $181.40 Million Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,704,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,342 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 1.24% of East West Bancorp worth $181,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EWBC. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 265,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,212,000 after buying an additional 6,217 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 3,272 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 22,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 11,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group set a $125.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 85,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,824.60. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 80,221 shares of company stock worth $9,431,089 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $104.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $123.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

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.