Great Lakes Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 26,513 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,423,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Act Two Investors LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $680,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $39,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $229,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $238,000. Finally, Crosspoint Financial LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $423,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 33,511 shares of company stock worth $4,312,741 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.89 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.67 and a 52-week high of $137.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. DA Davidson boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.92.

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.