Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 19,118 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 58.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,118 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.23.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $129.89 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $136.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $791.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.77%.

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.