East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Acquired by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 43.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,500 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.12% of East West Bancorp worth $17,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in East West Bancorp by 2.6% in the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $1,017,325.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,950 shares in the company, valued at $1,719,698.50. This represents a 37.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 119,065 shares of company stock worth $13,857,314. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $109.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.13. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $123.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. 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 payout ratio is 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on EWBC. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Profile

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.