4,463 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Purchased by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $576,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $1,744,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $199,529,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,652,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,781 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.0%

EWBC stock opened at $126.86 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.67 and a 1-year high of $137.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $131.43 and its 200-day moving average is $122.43. The firm has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted 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 business had revenue of $789.98 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%.East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at $11,280,926.62. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741. 0.94% of the stock is owned by 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.