East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 365,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,889 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $38,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 179.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $106.32 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.45. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.21.

About East West Bancorp

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.