25,775 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Purchased by Expect Equity LLC

Expect Equity LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,327,000. East West Bancorp makes up about 2.1% of Expect Equity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $1,744,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,185,781 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $130,744,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 85,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,511 shares of company stock worth $3,077,741. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on EWBC. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $129.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $131.30 and its 200 day moving average is $122.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $137.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.24 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. 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.