Bleakley Financial Group LLC Takes Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 78,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,366,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 729,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 123,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,894,000 after acquiring an additional 8,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $71.35 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.49. The company has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.12 and a 1 year high of $79.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.91 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 26.89%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.