Maverick Capital Ltd. Takes $1.52 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Maverick Capital acquired a new $1.52 million stake in East West Bancorp during the first quarter, purchasing 14,203 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 89.53% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.23; Wells Fargo and Cantor Fitzgerald recently raised or set targets of $140 and $150, respectively.
• East West Bancorp exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.63 EPS and $791.14 million in revenue, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing a 2.5% yield.

Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 14,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,516,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,568,000 after buying an additional 19,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.23.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.8%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $129.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.35 and a 200-day moving average of $119.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $136.24.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business had revenue of $791.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. East West Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 30.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

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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