Intech Investment Management LLC Has $7.13 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 46.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 67,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,376 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $7,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.7% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $125.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $109.45 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $123.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.13. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total transaction of $858,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This represents a 57.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp 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.