UBS Group AG Raises Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 570,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,970 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $64,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,530,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 22,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,356,000 after buying an additional 11,537 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,101,000 after buying an additional 18,696 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,879,000 after buying an additional 334,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,574,000 after buying an additional 14,411 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.9%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $123.42 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.21 and a fifty-two week high of $127.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.15. The company has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.97%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,237,558.42. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 62,021 shares of company stock worth $7,365,277 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.