East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Acquired by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 39.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 520,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 148,530 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.38% of East West Bancorp worth $43,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 490.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 537 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $111.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,017,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 931,203. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.34 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $92.41 and its 200-day moving average is $82.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 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 (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.04% 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.