Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 20,264 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 264,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,264 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. owned about 0.19% of East West Bancorp worth $29,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $129.30 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.74. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.67 and a 52-week high of $136.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.62.

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.