East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Keeler Thomas Management LLC

Key Points

• Keeler Thomas Management LLC has reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 32.8%, now owning 12,628 shares worth $1,133,000.
• Wall Street analysts have increased the target price for East West Bancorp's stock, with Barclays setting it at $135.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• East West Bancorp has announced a $0.60 per share quarterly dividend, with a dividend yield of 2.4%, set to be paid on August 15th.

Keeler Thomas Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 32.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,160 shares during the quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.9% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $98.49 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $100.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.97. 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.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,191,984 in the last three months. Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.