East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by De Lisle Partners LLP

De Lisle Partners LLP trimmed its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,200 shares during the quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $132.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $121.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.59. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.79 and a 52-week high of $132.88.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value 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 $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 53,511 shares of company stock valued at $6,678,159 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

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.