East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Bought by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 220.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,256 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $968,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 179.9% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $116.50 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $123.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.06.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.The firm had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total transaction of $858,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 119,065 shares of company stock worth $13,857,314 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EWBC. Barclays increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Stephens increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.14.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.