Insider Selling: East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Insider Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,632.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $77.44 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.06. The firm has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.60 and a twelve month high of $79.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on EWBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.08.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Company 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.