Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases 4,862 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 43,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,862 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.3% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EWBC. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on 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, TD Cowen lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,800 shares of company stock worth $5,165,690. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $128.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.79 and a fifty-two week high of $130.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $119.91 and a 200-day moving average of $115.10.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.97%.

East West Bancorp 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.