East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Position Lessened by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 24.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,420 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.16% of East West Bancorp worth $28,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,647,000 after buying an additional 1,185,781 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after buying an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 32,511 shares of company stock worth $4,177,721 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.77.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9%

EWBC opened at $133.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.91. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $136.24.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

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.