East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC lowered its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 27.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 814 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $692,468,000 after buying an additional 4,696,157 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,733,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,843,000 after acquiring an additional 314,262 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,005,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,525,000 after purchasing an additional 46,717 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,701,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,739,000 after purchasing an additional 32,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $137,390,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $102.12 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $104.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.87. The stock has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.08.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,270. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total value of $1,606,393.23. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 113,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,098,165.69. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 41,220 shares of company stock worth $4,343,878 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Profile

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.