Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its East West Bancorp position by 21.4% in the first quarter, selling 10,796 shares and retaining 39,632 shares valued at approximately $4.23 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.53% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 10 Buy ratings and five Hold ratings. East West Bancorp has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $140.62.
• East West Bancorp recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.63 in EPS and $791.14 million in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, equivalent to a 2.4% annualized yield.

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 21.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,796 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position 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 worth $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $180,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,781 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $412,464,000 after buying an additional 633,649 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,207,000 after purchasing an additional 542,149 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp 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 directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,093,742. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,511 shares of company stock worth $2,854,021. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $133.40 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.29. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The company has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $791.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 EPS. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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