4,093 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 4,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in 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. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.92.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $4,312,741. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $128.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $137.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $131.33 and a 200 day moving average of $122.12.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 30.77%.

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.