Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. by 19.0%, now holding 48,748 shares valued at approximately $4.38 million.
• East West Bancorp recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.28, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.23, with revenue also up by 10.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 28.04%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,768 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 155.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,714,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $692,468,000 after purchasing an additional 4,696,157 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,733,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $424,843,000 after purchasing an additional 314,262 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,876,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $179,688,000 after purchasing an additional 324,410 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 2.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,701,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $152,739,000 after acquiring an additional 32,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in East West Bancorp by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,226,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $117,414,000 after acquiring an additional 228,825 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $105.20 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.42 and a 200 day moving average of $93.68. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 1.37 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.The company had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,572,270. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $91,833,901.32. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.

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