East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Manuel Pham Alvarez Sells 810 Shares

Key Points

• Director Manuel Pham Alvarez sold 810 EWBC shares at an average price of $130.40, generating $105,624. After the transaction, he retained 10,629 shares, a 7.08% reduction in his position.
• East West Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $2.63, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 12.5% year over year to $789.98 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding approximately 2.5%.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $144.15 versus the reported share price of $129.37; institutional investors own 89.53% of the company.

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $105,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,629 shares in the company, valued at $1,386,021.60. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $129.37. The stock had a trading volume of 603,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 969,055. The company's 50-day moving average is $131.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $137.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $789.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marathon Mission Inc. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the second quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 9,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.15.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc NASDAQ: EWBC is the holding company for East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through its East West Bank subsidiary.

East West Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgage services, wealth management, treasury management, and international banking services. Its products support commercial real estate, commercial and industrial businesses, residential borrowers, and consumers.

The bank has a particular focus on serving communities and businesses connected to the United States and Greater China.

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