West Family Investments Inc. Acquires New Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $907,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 199,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,440,000 after acquiring an additional 17,486 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,523,000 after acquiring an additional 27,402 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,387,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,516,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,511 shares of company stock worth $3,077,741 over the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $1.52 on Tuesday, hitting $129.25. 655,537 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 973,722. The company has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $137.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.83.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

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.