Tobam Boosts Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Tobam increased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 25,795.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,417 shares during the period. Tobam’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,530,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 108.8% during the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 22,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after buying an additional 11,537 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 5.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,101,000 after buying an additional 18,696 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,879,000 after buying an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $1,044,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $126.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $136.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $123.12 and a 200 day moving average of $116.37.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

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.