Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Decreases Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 612,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,087 shares during the period. East West Bancorp makes up approximately 1.8% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.45% of East West Bancorp worth $65,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.6%

EWBC stock opened at $131.15 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $136.00. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711. Insiders own 0.94% 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.