Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $12.73 Million in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 132,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,734,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 152.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,404,000 after buying an additional 225,799 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in East West Bancorp by 39.9% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,079,000 after acquiring an additional 148,530 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,223,000 after acquiring an additional 136,528 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,287,000 after acquiring an additional 123,376 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Stephens cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. DA Davidson raised their target price 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, UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,537.35. The trade was a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 in the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $100.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

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.