Voya Investment Management LLC Has $6.59 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 30.1%, acquiring an additional 16,991 shares, bringing its total ownership to 73,468 shares valued at $6.59 million.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for East West Bancorp, with Barclays raising its target from $110 to $135, indicating strong market confidence, while Wall Street Zen downgraded its rating to a "sell".
• East West Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2%, and a payout ratio of 28.04%.

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 30.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,991 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of East West Bancorp worth $6,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $1,355,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 27,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 7,837 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $1,766,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $108.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,004,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,750. The firm has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. East West Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,270. This trade represents a 6.26% 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 stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,302,660.45. The trade was a 34.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.64.

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.