East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Sells $105,624.00 in Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $105,624.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,386,021.60. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $1.09 on Thursday, reaching $129.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 603,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 969,055. The company has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $137.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 12,510.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,651,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,665,877,000 after buying an additional 20,487,542 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,744,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after buying an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $199,529,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $221,652,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Stephens lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.15.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: EWBC) is the holding company for East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through its East West Bank subsidiary.

East West Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage services, wealth management, treasury management, and international banking services. Its products support commercial real estate, commercial and industrial businesses, residential borrowers, and consumers.

The bank has a particular focus on serving communities and businesses connected to the United States and Greater China.