HB Wealth Management LLC Invests $256,000 in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 93,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,824,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 299,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,687,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 152.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,404,000 after acquiring an additional 225,799 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 362.4% in the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 21,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,545,000 after acquiring an additional 16,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 8.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $102.93 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $101.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.05. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,543,510.50. This trade represents a 7.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Profile

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.