Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,521 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,521 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $302,668.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,392,713.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $302,668.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,392,713.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $82.57 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.59 and a 52 week high of $89.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.29.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.71%.

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.