Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 15.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $3,961,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,832,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 197.8% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 10,535 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $909,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $852,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,486,343.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on EWBC. StockNews.com cut East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $97.19 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $51.40 and a one year high of $98.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

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.