Irene Oh Sells 11,211 Shares of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) insider Irene Oh sold 11,211 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC traded up $2.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $130.18. 762,616 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,035,401. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.29. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.79 and a fifty-two week high of $130.54.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

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.