East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $80.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.29. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.16. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.59 and a 1 year high of $89.75.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.10. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $302,668.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,392,713.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.87.

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.