Royal Bank of Canada Has $13.15 Million Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 32.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 123,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,510 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.09% of East West Bancorp worth $13,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 281.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,781 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,207,000 after purchasing an additional 542,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.62.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $131.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.61. The firm has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be 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 is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the 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 owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at $11,280,926.62. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,177,721. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About East West Bancorp

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.