East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Bought by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.9% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,079,000 after purchasing an additional 148,530 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,223,000 after purchasing an additional 136,528 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,438,000 after buying an additional 122,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 2.1 %

EWBC stock opened at $100.53 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.72. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,543,510.50. This trade represents a 7.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.77.

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.