Man Group plc Purchases Shares of 69,078 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 69,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,917,000. Man Group plc owned 0.05% of East West Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marathon Mission Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $129.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $131.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.39. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $137.47. The firm has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94. 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 announced 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 return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend 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 currently 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total transaction of $135,020.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.92.

East West Bancorp 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.