East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $75.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.12 and a 1 year high of $79.54. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.57.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

East West Bancorp 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.