Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its East West Bancorp stake in the fourth quarter, ending with 5.31 million shares worth about $597 million, or roughly 3.86% of the company.
• East West Bancorp reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.57 per share topping estimates and revenue rising 11.8% year over year to $773.75 million.
• The bank also announced a $0.80 quarterly dividend, while analysts remain generally positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $132.36.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 3.86% of East West Bancorp worth $596,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in East West Bancorp by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,051,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $207,146,000 after buying an additional 391,059 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,243,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in East West Bancorp by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $361,879,000 after buying an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $119.41 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $113.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.26 and a fifty-two week high of $127.51.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $132.36.

East West Bancorp 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report).

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.