East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC lowered its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 27.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 814 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.9% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,449,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.9% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 880.7% during the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 19,420 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 203.0% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 817,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,361,000 after acquiring an additional 547,556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $102.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.87. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,302,660.45. The trade was a 34.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $98,999.60. Following the sale, the director owned 11,076 shares in the company, valued at $1,118,897.52. This trade represents a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 41,220 shares of company stock worth $4,343,878 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.08.

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.