Covestor Ltd Grows Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $338,142,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $59,460,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 112.5% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,013,000 after purchasing an additional 762,958 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 152.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,404,000 after buying an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.6% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 649,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,578,000 after purchasing an additional 152,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. DA Davidson increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $105.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $87.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.52. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.62 and a 52-week high of $107.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.27.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,210. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at $11,543,510.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,969 shares of company stock valued at $1,345,956 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.