Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Grows Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.1%, owning 464,643 shares valued at approximately $41.7 million.
• East West Bancorp reported a net margin of 26.06% for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $2.28, exceeding analysts' estimates.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, representing an annualized yield of 2.3%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 464,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,604 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.34% of East West Bancorp worth $41,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.9% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $105.70. The stock had a trading volume of 744,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 676,937. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.95. The company has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.97.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Activity

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 shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,302,660.45. This trade represents a 34.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total transaction of $1,606,393.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 113,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,098,165.69. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,601 shares of company stock worth $6,543,972 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.