Coldstream Capital Management Inc. Buys 2,805 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 55.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $115,369,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,713,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,279,000 after purchasing an additional 886,841 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,215,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,370,000 after purchasing an additional 751,944 shares in the last quarter. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $33,675,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.0% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 863,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,521,000 after purchasing an additional 391,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,632.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $775,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,632.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,625 shares of company stock worth $1,048,508. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on EWBC. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $73.68 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.39 and a 12-month high of $79.54. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.83 and a 200 day moving average of $71.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

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.