East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Insider Sells $66,250.00 in Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) insider Irene Oh sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total value of $66,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,328,485. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $132.63 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.67. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.79 and a fifty-two week high of $132.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,781 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after acquiring an additional 542,149 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.