Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 144,100 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 74.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 144,100 additional shares and bringing its total to 338,000 shares worth about $38 million.
• Insider selling was reported, with Director Archana Deskus and CEO Dominic Ng both selling shares in recent transactions. Insider ownership now stands at just 0.94% of the company.
• East West Bancorp beat quarterly earnings expectations, posting $2.57 EPS versus $2.46 expected, while revenue rose 11.8% year over year. The bank also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, implying a 2.6% yield.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 74.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 338,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 144,100 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.25% of East West Bancorp worth $37,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% in 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 raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in 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. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $120.94 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.26 and a 52 week high of $127.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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