928,360 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Purchased by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc., purchasing 928,360 shares valued at approximately $83.33 million, representing about 0.67% of the company's stock.
• Insider trading activity reveals that CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares for over $4.13 million, reducing his holdings by 4.31%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for East West Bancorp, with Barclays raising its target price to $135.00 and one firm issuing a sell rating, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 928,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $83,330,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.67% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 448.9% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 89.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $101.19. The company had a trading volume of 660,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,479. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $101.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.69. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. The business's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $91,833,901.32. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.