67,937 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Purchased by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management acquired 67,937 shares of East West Bancorp valued at approximately $8.77 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.53% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with East West Bancorp receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $144.15; Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to “Overweight” with a $160 target.
• The bank exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.63 EPS and $789.98 million in revenue, while year-over-year revenue rose 12.5%. It also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding about 2.5%.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 67,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,770,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 12,510.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,651,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,665,877,000 after buying an additional 20,487,542 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $1,744,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $199,529,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $221,652,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Morgan Stanley raised shares of East West Bancorp from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $129.25 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $137.47. The company has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. This represents a 6.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,511 shares of company stock worth $3,077,741 in the last three months. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.

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