Asset One Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Asset One Wealth Management acquired 34,474 shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.53% of the company’s stock.
• East West Bancorp exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.63 in EPS and $789.98 million in revenue, with revenue up 12.5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $141.92, while the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding about 2.5%.

Asset One Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,565,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $319,523,000 after buying an additional 27,402 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 8.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 264,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,046,000 after acquiring an additional 20,264 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $1,516,000. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $1,044,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total value of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,280,926.62. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,974 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,248.38. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,511 shares of company stock valued at $4,312,741. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $129.97 on Monday. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $131.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $137.47.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.24 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 30.77%.

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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