16,093 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,713,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 38.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,968,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $174,431,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,271,000 after purchasing an additional 920,159 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 840,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,861,000 after buying an additional 687,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $111.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $123.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 33.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research downgraded East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stephens upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.21.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 12,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $1,442,905.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 93,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,714,205. The trade was a 11.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 119,065 shares of company stock worth $13,857,314 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.