Amalgamated Bank Trims Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $6,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 155.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,714,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $692,468,000 after acquiring an additional 4,696,157 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $137,390,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $83,330,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 203.0% during the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 817,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,361,000 after acquiring an additional 547,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 6,571.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 460,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,311,000 after acquiring an additional 453,342 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of EWBC opened at $101.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $104.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.20. The firm has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.93.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 26.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Cowen started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.08.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,639 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $835,706.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 105,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,565,111.60. The trade was a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,660.45. This represents a 34.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,220 shares of company stock valued at $3,343,478. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.