Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Raises Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

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 position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 203.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 817,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 547,556 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.59% of East West Bancorp worth $73,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,990,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $765,167,000 after purchasing an additional 107,665 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,052,000 after purchasing an additional 437,676 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,876,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $179,688,000 after purchasing an additional 324,410 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,701,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $152,739,000 after purchasing an additional 32,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,226,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,414,000 after purchasing an additional 228,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were 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 owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,191,984 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.8%

EWBC traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $99.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 867,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 987,818. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average is $100.23 and its 200-day moving average is $93.76. 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. The company's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 28.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.15.

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.