Intech Investment Management LLC Has $7.13 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 46.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,376 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $7,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 179.9% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $109.45 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $123.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.13. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group set a $125.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.14.

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.