Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Acquires 117,607 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 589,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 117,607 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $62,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.3% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.7% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $116.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $116.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.06. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same period last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.14.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total transaction of $858,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 119,065 shares of company stock worth $13,857,314 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.