East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Bought by Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,200 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp accounts for 3.1% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EWBC. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968,716 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,819,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,650,000 after purchasing an additional 86,171 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,294,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $433,640,000 after buying an additional 134,541 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.2% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,005,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,525,000 after buying an additional 46,717 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after buying an additional 920,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,820. The trade was a 18.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 7,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,339.88. This trade represents a 16.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,139 shares of company stock worth $2,301,906. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EWBC. Piper Sandler upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $110.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $110.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

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.