Irene Oh Sells 800 Shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) insider Irene Oh sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total value of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at $11,280,926.62. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of EWBC opened at $127.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $91.36 and a one year high of $136.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.16.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.