Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 73,420 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,420 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $28,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marathon Mission Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,177,721. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stephens boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.77.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $133.04 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.67 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $130.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.91.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.77%.

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.