Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 4,271 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 35.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 0.4% during the first quarter. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 121,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,910,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in East West Bancorp by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 168,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,157,000 after purchasing an additional 6,538 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.85.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 14,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock opened at $108.40 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.23.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.