Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, holding 2.83 million shares worth about $319.5 million at the end of the period.
• Several company insiders sold shares recently, including CEO Dominic Ng and Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause; insiders sold 41,800 shares total over the last three months.
• East West Bancorp reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $2.57 per share, and the stock also supports a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding about 2.7% annually.

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,402 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.05% of East West Bancorp worth $319,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 41,800 shares of company stock worth $5,165,690 over the last three months. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $120.67 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.97 and a 1 year high of $127.51. The firm has a market cap of $16.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.15.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. East West Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 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 Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.69.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.