First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Raises Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 15.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,089,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Michael S. Ryan Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $200,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $302,668.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,392,713.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $166,411.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on EWBC. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.77.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 3.0 %

EWBC opened at $89.08 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.33 and a 52 week high of $93.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29.

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

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.