8,237 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Purchased by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,063,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,981,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $559,822,000 after purchasing an additional 106,998 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,620,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,329,000 after purchasing an additional 306,916 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,713,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,619,000 after purchasing an additional 318,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 33,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,312,741 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.77.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $135.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.69. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $137.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio 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.