East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Stock: Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Reduces Stake

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY decreased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 606,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,620 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp accounts for 2.0% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned about 0.44% of East West Bancorp worth $75,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EWBC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,744,958,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $221,652,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,470,000 after purchasing an additional 168,029 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $130,744,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,995,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total value of $105,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,629 shares in the company, valued at $1,386,021.60. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 11,810 shares of company stock valued at $1,564,344 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $131.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.08 and a 12-month high of $137.47. The company has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.58.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $822.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.07 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.75% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.45%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is the parent company of East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. The bank serves businesses, professionals, consumers and institutions through a range of deposit, lending and financial services.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential and consumer lending, checking and savings accounts, treasury management, international banking, wealth management and foreign-exchange services.