East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 49.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $12,734,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $102.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $101.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.05.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.23.

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.