Comerica Bank Has $5.17 Million Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Comerica Bank cut its stake in East West Bancorp by 43.8%, selling 35,775 shares and leaving a holding of 45,964 shares worth about $5.17 million.
• East West Bancorp beat Q earnings with EPS of $2.57 (vs. $2.46 est.) and revenue of $773.75M, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 (annualized $3.20, ~2.5% yield).
• Analysts are largely positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and target of $132.36; institutional ownership is high (~89.5%) while insiders sold roughly $7.37M of stock in the last three months.

Comerica Bank trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,775 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $31,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $125.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $86.21 and a one year high of $127.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $112.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during 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 business's quarterly 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 EPS. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 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, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 31.97%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,021 shares of company stock worth $7,365,277. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.36.

About East West Bancorp

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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