Prudential PLC Acquires 29,881 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 222.0%, owning 43,338 shares worth approximately $3.89 million as of its latest filing.
• East West Bancorp's stock has received multiple target price upgrades, with analysts from Citigroup and Wells Fargo raising their price targets to $116.00 and $125.00, respectively, indicating a general bullish outlook.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, translating to an annualized payout of $2.40 and a dividend yield of 2.3%.

Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 222.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,881 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $206,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.6% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,226 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $83,330,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,714,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $692,468,000 after acquiring an additional 4,696,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.7% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at $91,833,901.32. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.1%

EWBC stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $101.07. The company had a trading volume of 216,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,023,270. The stock has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.60 and a 200-day moving average of $93.55. 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 one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. East West Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on EWBC. Barclays upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.15.

About East West Bancorp

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.