Vest Financial LLC Has $61.69 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 8.7% in Q4 to 548,858 shares, a position worth about $61.69 million (roughly 0.40% of the company).
• East West Bancorp beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.57 (vs. $2.46) and revenue of $773.75M (up 11.8% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share (annualized $3.20, ~2.6% yield).
• Institutional investors own about 89.53% of EWBC, with notable stake increases from Boston Partners, AQR and Bank of America, and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $132.36.

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 548,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,888 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.40% of East West Bancorp worth $61,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 23.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,051,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $207,146,000 after buying an additional 391,059 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $41,243,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 10.9% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $361,879,000 after buying an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,842.68. This represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 60,221 shares of company stock worth $7,139,287 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.9%

EWBC opened at $124.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.65. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.36 and a fifty-two week high of $125.53.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. East West Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.46 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on EWBC shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Profile

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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