Capital International Inc. CA Trims Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Capital International Inc. CA cut its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,223 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 179.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 62.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.90, for a total transaction of $848,896.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,762,824.60. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 110,221 shares of company stock worth $12,839,989 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded 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 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.21.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.8%

EWBC stock opened at $105.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $123.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.54. The company has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.90.

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 firm had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Research 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

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.