Verition Fund Management LLC Increases Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 138.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 359,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 208,710 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $40,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.3% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,511 shares of company stock valued at $6,678,159. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $132.63 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $121.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.79 and a 52-week high of $132.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

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.