ABN Amro Investment Solutions Makes New $4.08 Million Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

ABN Amro Investment Solutions bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 40,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,077,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the second quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 5.8% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $139.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Cowen began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction of $697,378.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,302,660.45. This trade represents a 34.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.40, for a total transaction of $105,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,076 shares in the company, valued at $956,610.40. This trade represents a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,220 shares of company stock valued at $4,551,488. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $103.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.64. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%.The business had revenue of $627.36 million for the quarter. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 26.46%.

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.