Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,804 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.06% of East West Bancorp worth $6,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $338,142,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,480,000 after purchasing an additional 118,658 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 112.5% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,013,000 after purchasing an additional 762,958 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $59,460,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.6% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 649,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,578,000 after purchasing an additional 152,334 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $101.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $87.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $55.43 and a one year high of $107.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,210. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,969 shares of company stock valued at $1,345,956 over the last 90 days. 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.