First Trust Advisors LP Has $17.96 Million Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC – Get Rating) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 272,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,675 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $17,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI now owns 5,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on EWBC. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng purchased 11,900 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.09 per share, with a total value of $500,871.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 889,609 shares in the company, valued at $37,443,642.81. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Gary Teo purchased 3,450 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.00 per share, with a total value of $148,350.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,583 shares in the company, valued at $627,069. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng purchased 11,900 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.09 per share, with a total value of $500,871.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 889,609 shares in the company, valued at $37,443,642.81. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 33,030 shares of company stock valued at $1,471,642 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $48.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.94. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.86 and a 1 year high of $80.98.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $659.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.68 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 40.38% and a return on equity of 20.71%. East West Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 1st were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 28th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.51%.

East West Bancorp Profile

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East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following business segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other. The Consumer and Business Banking segment provides financial service products and services to consumer and commercial customers through the company’s branch network in the U.S.