Strategic Global Advisors LLC Takes $5.13 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Strategic Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 39,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,131,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $907,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,523,000 after acquiring an additional 27,402 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 264,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,046,000 after acquiring an additional 20,264 shares during the period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,044,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,516,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of EWBC opened at $130.43 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $131.37 and its 200 day moving average is $122.29. The company has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $137.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About East West Bancorp

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.