Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $717,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $39,347,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,961,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,832,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 377,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,138,000 after purchasing an additional 46,416 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 197.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 10,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $83.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.23 and a 200 day moving average of $76.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.29. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.59 and a 52 week high of $89.75.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.10. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. The firm had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EWBC. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $80.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. DA Davidson raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $302,668.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,392,713.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $302,668.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,392,713.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,111.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

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.