Insider Selling: East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Sells 12,000 Shares of Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $103.57 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.26 and a 52-week high of $107.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $14.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.10.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted 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, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted 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, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $338,142,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $59,460,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 112.5% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,013,000 after purchasing an additional 762,958 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,404,000 after purchasing an additional 225,799 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $47,578,000 after purchasing an additional 152,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.