Insider Selling: East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Sells $1,323,700.00 in Stock

Key Points

• East West Bancorp Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares for $1.32 million at an average price of $132.37, reducing his ownership by 21.29% to 36,974 shares. He also sold 10,000 shares in May.
• EWBC shares closed at $131.88, down 1.0% for the session, but remained near their 52-week high of $136.24. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $2.63, ahead of estimates, with revenue up 12.5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $140.62, while East West Bancorp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80, implying a 2.4% annualized yield.

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total value of $1,323,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Douglas Paul Krause also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 27th, Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.0%

EWBC stock traded down $1.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $131.88. 430,708 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,022,324. The firm's 50 day moving average is $129.56 and its 200 day moving average is $120.42. The firm has a market cap of $18.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $136.24.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The firm had revenue of $791.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $784.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.

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