Insider Selling: East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Sells $135,020.00 in Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $136.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $137.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $131.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $7,939,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $599,000. EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,117,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Expect Equity LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $3,327,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.77.

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.