Swiss National Bank Has $20.06 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 278,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $20,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $77.31 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.60 and a twelve month high of $79.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $75.64 and its 200-day moving average is $70.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $775,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,867,632.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,625 shares of company stock valued at $1,048,508. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.