International Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 37,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,142,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EWBC. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $338,142,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,460,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 112.5% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $114,013,000 after acquiring an additional 762,958 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,687,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,502,000 after buying an additional 761,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,404,000 after purchasing an additional 225,799 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.35. The company had a trading volume of 683,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,076. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.23 and a twelve month high of $101.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $85.59 and its 200 day moving average is $79.58.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at $11,543,510.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,299,975 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.46.

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.