Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Sells 17,100 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 40.6%, selling 17,100 shares, and now holds 25,000 shares valued at approximately $2.24 million.
• The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $705 million.
• East West Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 28.04%.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. cut its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 40.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,100 shares during the quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,043,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 20,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 8,501 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in East West Bancorp by 22.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 456,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,668,000 after purchasing an additional 108,883 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,572,270. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $106.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.97. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started 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 on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson increased 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 note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.15.

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.

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