Dakota Wealth Management Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased 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 purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $103.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,807. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.21.

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.