Verition Fund Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 138.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 359,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 208,710 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.26% of East West Bancorp worth $40,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $132.63 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $121.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.67. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.79 and a 12-month high of $132.88. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total value of $66,250.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at $11,328,485. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Company 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.