Earnest Partners LLC Purchases 8,342 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,704,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,342 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $181,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $274,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.6% during the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 3.5% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 511.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,221 shares of company stock valued at $9,431,089. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group set a $125.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.21.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $104.49 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.54. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $123.82. The stock has a market cap of $14.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.61%.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.