Bleakley Financial Group LLC Purchases New Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on EWBC. Barclays initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $71.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.49. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.12 and a 52 week high of $79.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $654.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.91 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.89%.

East West Bancorp 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.