Simplicity Solutions LLC Purchases New Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

EWBC opened at $72.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.39. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.12 and a 12 month high of $79.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $654.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 26.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.