Blue Trust Inc. Increases Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 454 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth $3,961,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $3,832,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 197.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,535 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $909,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $852,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $97.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.40 and a 1 year high of $98.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.66 and a 200-day moving average of $78.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

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.