Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 16.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,689 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $416,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $115,369,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 377,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,138,000 after acquiring an additional 46,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,346 shares of company stock worth $1,108,160. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $82.57 on Friday. 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.59 and a 52 week high of $89.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.89.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on 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 lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.33.

East West Bancorp 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.