Invesco Ltd. Sells 378,615 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Invesco Ltd. cut its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,304,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 378,615 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 7.48% of East West Bancorp worth $1,096,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EWBC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,819,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,650,000 after buying an additional 86,171 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,313,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $459,210,000 after acquiring an additional 19,539 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,879,000 after acquiring an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after acquiring an additional 920,159 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,726,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $276,562,000 after acquiring an additional 86,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,221 shares of company stock valued at $9,431,089. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.1%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $105.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $123.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.52.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.21.

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.