Planned Solutions Inc. Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 4,818 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in East West Bancorp by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 432,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,135,000 after acquiring an additional 82,872 shares during the period. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 18,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $79.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.35. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.12 and a 1-year high of $79.51.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $654.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.91 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 26.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $79.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $62.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.36.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

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

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.