East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management reduced its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 562,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,700 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.40% of East West Bancorp worth $40,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 65.1% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $78,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Stephens upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $76.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.12 and a 52 week high of $79.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.65.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.