East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $22,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Tobam boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 131.7% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $107.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.09. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.34 and a 12-month high of $108.50.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at $11,543,510.50. This represents a 7.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens lifted their target price 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. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

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.