East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stake Boosted by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 203% in Q1, acquiring an additional 547,556 shares for a total of 817,306 shares worth approximately $73.36 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and GAMMA Investing LLC, have also significantly increased their holdings in East West Bancorp, with a combined ownership of nearly 90% held by institutional investors.
• Analysts have maintained a \strong"Moderate Buy"\ strong> rating on East West Bancorp stock, with target prices raised by firms such as Barclays, indicating positive sentiment and expected growth in shares.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 203.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 817,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 547,556 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.59% of East West Bancorp worth $73,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. R Squared Ltd raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 79.3% in the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 3,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 45.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,478,000 after buying an additional 5,171 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $299,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,086,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 26,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.11. 871,052 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,040,722. 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 simple moving average of $100.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.77. The company has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.97.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,100 shares of company stock worth $8,191,984 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Company 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.