Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC Invests $7.32 Million in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired approximately $7.32 million worth of shares in East West Bancorp, Inc., representing 1.4% of its investment portfolio and making it the firm's 28th largest position.
• Insider activity includes Director Jack C. Liu and CEO Dominic Ng selling shares, with Liu selling 1,000 shares for $105,000 and Ng selling 40,000 shares for over $4.1 million, indicating notable insider movements.
• East West Bancorp recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 28.04%.

Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 81,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,323,000. East West Bancorp comprises 1.4% of Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC owned approximately 0.06% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,449,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 35.9% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 470.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,072,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,302,660.45. The trade was a 34.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $108.16. 1,126,100 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 718,242. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.32.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

East West Bancorp Company 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.