Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Buys Shares of 57,399 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Aware Super disclosed a new first-quarter stake in East West Bancorp, buying 57,399 shares valued at about $6.13 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with funds and hedge funds holding 89.53% of the bank’s shares, while some insiders have been selling stock in recent months.
• Analysts are generally constructive on EWBC: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus, a target price of $138.31, and the company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates while paying a $0.80 quarterly dividend.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 57,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,128,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $134.52 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $127.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.89. The company has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

About East West Bancorp

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.