Avior Wealth Management LLC Invests $473,000 in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 21,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 3,228 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $836,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 77,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,821 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in East West Bancorp by 221.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,803,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,090,792,000 after buying an additional 86,848 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

EWBC stock opened at $71.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.55. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.12 and a 12 month high of $79.54. The company has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $654.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.91 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.89%.

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.