Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $364,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 386,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,003,000 after purchasing an additional 4,977 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 57,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,544,000 after purchasing an additional 12,624 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 105,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,085,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $95.50 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.62.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.02 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 928,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

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.