Capital International Investors Reduces Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Capital International Investors reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,788,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 340,100 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned about 6.38% of East West Bancorp worth $935,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968,716 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,819,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,650,000 after buying an additional 86,171 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,313,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $459,210,000 after buying an additional 19,539 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 10.9% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,879,000 after buying an additional 334,429 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after buying an additional 920,159 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $107.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $123.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.21.

East West Bancorp Company 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.