Perigon Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $673,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $446,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $363,000. Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $6,170,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $481,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $130.40 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $137.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total value of $106,552.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,280,926.62. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,511 shares of company stock worth $4,312,741. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

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.