Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $28.11 Million Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its East West Bancorp stake by 503.5% in the first quarter, holding 263,333 shares valued at approximately $28.11 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.53% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on EWBC, with an average price target of $140.23; recent targets range from $135 to $155.
• East West Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $2.63, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year to $791.14 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding about 2.4% annually.

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 503.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 263,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 219,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.19% of East West Bancorp worth $28,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 6,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 over the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Stephens increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.23.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $131.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's 50-day moving average is $128.56 and its 200-day moving average is $119.75. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.67 and a 1 year high of $136.24.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company had revenue of $791.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

About East West Bancorp

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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