East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 13.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,324 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of East West Bancorp worth $32,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total value of $159,189.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,339.88. The trade was a 16.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total value of $1,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 45,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,820. This trade represents a 18.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,139 shares of company stock worth $2,301,906. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $106.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $103.30 and a 200-day moving average of $101.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $111.20.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.08.

About East West Bancorp

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.