Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 1,775,323 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in East West Bancorp, buying 1,775,323 shares valued at about $199.5 million and representing roughly 1.29% of the company.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause and CEO Dominic Ng, with total insider sales over the last 90 days amounting to 41,800 shares worth about $5.17 million.
• East West Bancorp reported strong first-quarter results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also paying a $0.80 quarterly dividend; analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $133.69.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,775,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $199,529,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.29% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,800 shares of company stock valued at $5,165,690. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $121.95 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.15. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $127.51. The company has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.69.

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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