Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 84.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,053 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 145.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 163,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,381,000 after purchasing an additional 96,760 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,574,000 after buying an additional 14,411 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 156.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 37,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,035,000 after buying an additional 23,125 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after buying an additional 4,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,879,000 after buying an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $107.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $123.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.57.

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

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.21.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $1,017,325.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,950 shares in the company, valued at $1,719,698.50. This represents a 37.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.