Boston Partners Trims Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Boston Partners slightly trimmed its East West Bancorp stake in the fourth quarter, selling 36,008 shares and leaving it with 3.84 million shares valued at about $431.5 million. Despite the reduction, it still owned roughly 2.79% of the bank.
• East West Bancorp posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.57 versus the $2.46 consensus and revenue of $773.75 million, up 11.8% year over year. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 10.6.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with 10 Buy ratings and 5 Hold ratings, giving the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $133.69. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, equal to a 2.4% annualized yield.

Boston Partners lowered its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,838,729 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,008 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 2.79% of East West Bancorp worth $431,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $1,530,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 108.8% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 22,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,101,000 after purchasing an additional 18,696 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 10.9% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $361,879,000 after purchasing an additional 334,429 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 14,411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.50, for a total transaction of $66,250.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 85,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,328,485. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,511 shares of company stock worth $6,678,159 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $132.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day moving average is $121.33 and its 200 day moving average is $115.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.79 and a 52-week high of $132.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid 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%.

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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