Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $1.11 Million Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 67.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,235 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,807,000 after buying an additional 2,968,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $174,431,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.6% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after acquiring an additional 920,159 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 840,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,861,000 after purchasing an additional 687,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,207,000 after purchasing an additional 542,149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total transaction of $159,189.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,339.88. The trade was a 16.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,820. This trade represents a 18.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 73,344 shares of company stock valued at $8,184,226. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $116.01 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $117.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $15.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $627.36 million for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research raised East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.08.

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.