UMB Bank n.a. Acquires 704 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 106.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,174,000 after purchasing an additional 632,245 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $1,072,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,352,000 after purchasing an additional 68,528 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $100,000. Finally, Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $1,015,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 928,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,919 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,494. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $94.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $86.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.19.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. Sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.85.

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.