Ieq Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 95,834 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 95,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,371,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Marathon Mission Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the second quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the 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 owned 85,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 33,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,312,741 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $129.97 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $137.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $131.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

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.