Comerica Bank Purchases 63,327 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Comerica Bank significantly increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 55.6%, now owning approximately 0.13% of the company valued at about $15.9 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a generally positive outlook on East West Bancorp, with eight firms giving a Buy rating and a consensus target price of $114.15.
• East West Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, which translates to a 2.3% annual yield, indicating its strong financial health and distribution policy.

Comerica Bank raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 55.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,327 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned 0.13% of East West Bancorp worth $15,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 155.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,714,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $692,468,000 after acquiring an additional 4,696,157 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,733,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $424,843,000 after buying an additional 314,262 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,005,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $359,525,000 after buying an additional 46,717 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 2.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,701,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $152,739,000 after purchasing an additional 32,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,226,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,414,000 after purchasing an additional 228,825 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,302,660.45. This trade represents a 34.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total value of $1,606,393.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 113,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,098,165.69. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,601 shares of company stock worth $6,543,972. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.40 on Thursday, hitting $105.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 645,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,483. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $103.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.83. The firm has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.The business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.