Scharf Investments LLC Sells 709 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Scharf Investments LLC trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 709 shares during the quarter. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 60.0% during the second quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Barclays boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.64.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $108.95 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $104.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.23. The company has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction of $697,378.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,660.45. The trade was a 34.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,639 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total transaction of $835,706.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 105,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,565,111.60. The trade was a 6.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.