Perpetual Ltd Sells 1,891 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Perpetual Ltd trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 15.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,891 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $39,347,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $3,961,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $3,832,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 197.8% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $909,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $88.33 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.23 and a 12 month high of $89.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.95 and its 200-day moving average is $77.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.29.

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

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,392,713.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,392,713.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,346 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,160 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $72.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.77.

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.