New York Life Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,675,000. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,827,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,313,000 after purchasing an additional 487,418 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 863,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,521,000 after purchasing an additional 391,702 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 392.1% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 453,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,921,000 after purchasing an additional 361,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 256.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 487,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,690,000 after purchasing an additional 350,706 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $77.44 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.60 and a 12-month high of $79.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.01. The company has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,625 shares of company stock valued at $1,048,508. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Compass Point boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.08.

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.