BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Increases Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S massively increased its East West Bancorp stake in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 3,297.5% to 33,431 shares valued at about $3.76 million.
• East West Bancorp reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings of $2.57 per share on revenue of $773.75 million, with revenue up 11.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on EWBC, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $133.69, while the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 3,297.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,447 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,313,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $459,210,000 after purchasing an additional 19,539 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $361,879,000 after purchasing an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $319,523,000 after purchasing an additional 27,402 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $125.94 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $119.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.73. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.79 and a 12-month high of $127.51. The firm has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors 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 yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 41,800 shares of company stock worth $5,165,690 in the last three months. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Company 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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