Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 15.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,039 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 56,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,174,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 25.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 490.1% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $879,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.53.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,346 shares of company stock worth $1,108,160 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $79.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.49. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.59 and a 12-month high of $89.75.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.61 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.71%.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.