Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,658 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.31% of East West Bancorp worth $133,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.33.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $82.57 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.59 and a 1 year high of $89.75.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $638.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.