East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Holdings Cut by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 69.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,069 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $82.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $49.59 and a one year high of $89.75.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.10. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $638.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,346 shares of company stock worth $1,108,160. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.33.

About East West Bancorp

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.