Picton Mahoney Asset Management Raises Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 68,185.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,546 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $106.32 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $123.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $115.54 and its 200 day moving average is $109.40.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.90, for a total transaction of $848,896.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,762,824.60. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.21.

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.