Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 61,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,939,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $1,744,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after buying an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,781 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $130,744,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $129.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.39. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,511 shares of company stock worth $3,077,741. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.92.

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.