Xponance Inc. Grows Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Xponance Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 302 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EWBC. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $100,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in East West Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 272,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,104,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 3.1%

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $104.63 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.80 and a 200-day moving average of $92.99. The firm has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%. The company had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on EWBC shares. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.85.

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.