Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $211,000 Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 6,562.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,625 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Stephens increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.60.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,621,111.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,392,713.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total value of $166,411.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,834,960 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $4.72 on Thursday, hitting $83.17. 1,081,264 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,036,694. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.65. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.59 and a 12 month high of $89.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $638.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $631.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. East West Bancorp’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

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.