Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,303 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,460,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,404,000 after acquiring an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 30.6% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 649,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,578,000 after acquiring an additional 152,334 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,078,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,480,000 after acquiring an additional 118,658 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $110.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $60.34 and a one year high of $110.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $92.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.53. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.27.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.25.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.