Royal Bank of Canada Buys 30,510 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 32.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,510 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $13,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,568,000 after buying an additional 19,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $131.70 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.61. The company has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total value of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,280,926.62. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,177,721. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp 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.