Whittier Trust Co. Buys 20,264 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 264,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,264 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $29,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $59,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.8% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 9,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.1% during the first quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 11.2% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 44.8% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $129.30 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.74. 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 fifty-two week low of $92.67 and a fifty-two week high of $136.00.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.80 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 31.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.62.

East West Bancorp Profile

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.