East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 612,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,087 shares during the period. East West Bancorp accounts for about 1.8% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $65,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total value of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,280,926.62. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on EWBC shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of EWBC opened at $131.15 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $123.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.74. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $136.00.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

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.