Financial Perspectives Inc Increases Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 727,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,795 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $765,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target for the company. Finally, Compass Point increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.42.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.30. 1,417,760 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,214,775. The company has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.12 and a 52-week high of $79.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.11.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.