KBC Group NV Purchases 562 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $338,142,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $59,460,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 152.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,404,000 after purchasing an additional 225,799 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 30.6% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 649,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,578,000 after purchasing an additional 152,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,078,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $104.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.74. The stock has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.34 and a 1-year high of $107.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.25.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,537.35. This represents a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,625,276. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Company 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.