East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Sells $1,323,700.00 in Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Douglas Paul Krause also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 27th, Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.1%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $131.70 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.67 and a 1-year high of $136.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $129.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $31,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $37,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on EWBC. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.62.

About East West Bancorp

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.