NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Increases Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 139 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,919 shares of company stock worth $5,840,494. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $91.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.26 and its 200 day moving average is $93.07.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.02 million. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.64%.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.