United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 4,463 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $576,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $907,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,523,000 after acquiring an additional 27,402 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $1,387,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 8.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 264,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,046,000 after purchasing an additional 20,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,044,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on EWBC. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Stephens boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.0%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $126.86 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $137.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 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, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,894,248.38. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 sold 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741 over the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp 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.