Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 12,444 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 11% by acquiring an additional 12,444 shares, bringing its total holdings to 125,415 shares valued at approximately $12.66 million.
• Insiders have sold a total of 70,240 shares of East West Bancorp stock, valued at $7.38 million, indicating a significant divestment.
• East West Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of 2.3%.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 11.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 125,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,444 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.09% of East West Bancorp worth $12,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction of $697,378.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,660.45. This trade represents a 34.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $835,706.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 105,714 shares in the company, valued at $11,565,111.60. This trade represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $106.51 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $104.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.52. The company has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.53.

East West Bancorp Profile

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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