Palouse Capital Management Inc. Has $1.79 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 789 shares during the quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,582,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $833,469,000 after acquiring an additional 159,963 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $338,142,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,462,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,145,000 after purchasing an additional 72,746 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,993,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,742,000 after purchasing an additional 280,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,480,000 after buying an additional 118,658 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $81.27 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.78. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.59 and a 52-week high of $89.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.29.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.53.

About East West Bancorp

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.