East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) CEO Dominic Ng Sells 30,000 Shares

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 737,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,126,975.70. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $125.22. The stock had a trading volume of 780,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,106,572. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.58 and a 1 year high of $127.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $112.71 and its 200-day moving average is $111.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% 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.