ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.0%, holding 223,627 shares worth approximately $22.58 million.
• East West Bancorp reported a quarterly earnings of $2.28 per share, surpassing estimates and representing a 10.3% revenue increase compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, indicating a 2.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 28.04% of earnings.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223,627 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,655 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.16% of East West Bancorp worth $22,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,714,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $692,468,000 after buying an additional 4,696,157 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $137,390,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $83,330,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 203.0% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 817,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,361,000 after buying an additional 547,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 6,571.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 460,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,311,000 after buying an additional 453,342 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $106.51 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50-day moving average is $104.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.48. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 28.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Cowen began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.53.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,572,270. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 15,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 113,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,098,165.69. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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