Amundi Lowers Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Amundi lessened its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 60.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,493 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $447,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in East West Bancorp by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in East West Bancorp by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,910,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.2%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $109.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.52. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,833,901.32. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,302,660.45. The trade was a 34.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.64.

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.