Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 27,402 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,402 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $319,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% in 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 during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 41,800 shares of company stock worth $5,165,690 over the last three months. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $120.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.15. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.97 and a 12 month high of $127.51.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 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.