CI Investments Inc. Has $1.10 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• CI Investments Inc. sharply reduced its East West Bancorp position in the first quarter, cutting its stake by 77.6% and ending with 10,332 shares valued at about $1.1 million.
• East West Bancorp posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.63 topping estimates and revenue rising 12.5% year over year to $791.14 million. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, or $3.20 annualized.
• Analysts remain generally positive on EWBC, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $140.23. Recent insider sales were also disclosed, including transactions by Irene H. Oh and Archana Deskus.

CI Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 77.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,785 shares during the quarter. CI Investments Inc.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,530,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in 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 period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,044,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 27,402 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $1,387,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $131.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $136.24. The stock has a market cap of $17.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.53.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $791.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 84,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,280,926.62. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 in the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.23.

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.

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.