East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Position Boosted by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 14.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,338 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $274,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $491,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.4% during the second quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 81.2% during the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $113.52 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $119.73. The company has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.87.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total value of $1,000,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,820. The trade was a 18.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 12,547 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $1,442,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 93,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,714,205. This represents a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 73,344 shares of company stock valued at $8,184,226 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EWBC. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.21.

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.