William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $24.74 Million in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 191,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,736,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.14% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $319,523,000 after purchasing an additional 27,402 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after buying an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 264,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,046,000 after buying an additional 20,264 shares during the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $1,044,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $1,516,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, August 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.92.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This trade represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $4,312,741. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $129.97 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $137.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 30.77%.

East West Bancorp 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.