Scientech Research LLC Makes New $802,000 Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC invested $802,000 in East West Bancorp, acquiring 8,935 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors hold 89.53% of East West Bancorp's stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• East West Bancorp reported earnings of $2.28 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and reflecting a 10.3% revenue increase compared to the previous year.

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $802,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 386,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,003,000 after acquiring an additional 4,977 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $447,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.73, for a total transaction of $1,606,393.23. Following the transaction, the insider owned 113,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,098,165.69. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,302,660.45. This represents a 34.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price 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. Nine 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.64.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

EWBC stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $109.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,045,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,968. 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 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $104.62 and a 200 day moving average of $94.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

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.