JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 18,696 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 339,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,696 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.25% of East West Bancorp worth $36,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.8%

EWBC stock opened at $103.53 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.49. 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 fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $123.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock worth $7,139,287 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on EWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays upped 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. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. 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.com, the company presently 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.