Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 2,498 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 25.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,392,713.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $166,411.92. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,111.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $81.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.74. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.59 and a 12 month high of $89.75. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.29.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.53.

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.