East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stake Cut by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management has reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.0%, now holding 342,900 shares worth approximately $30.78 million.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.28 in its latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 10.3% compared to the previous year.
• East West Bancorp has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing a 2.4% yield, with a payout ratio of 28.04%.

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 342,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,400 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.25% of East West Bancorp worth $30,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $289,052,000 after purchasing an additional 437,676 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 10,357.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 367,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,985,000 after acquiring an additional 363,963 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $32,138,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,876,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $179,688,000 after purchasing an additional 324,410 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,226,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $117,414,000 after purchasing an additional 228,825 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,191,984. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $1.62 on Friday, reaching $99.03. The company had a trading volume of 364,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,039,370. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.47 and a 200-day moving average of $93.77. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. The business's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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