National Bank of Canada FI Takes $5.98 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 72,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,978,000. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.05% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $59,460,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,404,000 after buying an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 649,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,578,000 after buying an additional 152,334 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,079,000 after buying an additional 148,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $652,223,000 after acquiring an additional 136,528 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,543,510.50. The trade was a 7.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded down $1.53 on Friday, hitting $101.58. 759,358 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 917,620. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $113.95. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $99.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.45.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.17.

About East West Bancorp

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.