Boston Trust Walden Corp Boosts Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 25.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 572,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,227 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.42% of East West Bancorp worth $57,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 126.8% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 470.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 689.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 12,093 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after buying an additional 3,460 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $101.18 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $105.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.11. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The firm had revenue of $627.36 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total value of $1,606,393.23. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 113,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,098,165.69. The trade was a 11.72% 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, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.33.

East West Bancorp 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.