B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases Shares of 50,243 East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 50,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,157,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,832,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 159.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $852,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,078,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 24,904 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $105.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.34 and a 1 year high of $107.68.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,625,276 in the last three months. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.25.

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.