Morgan Stanley Raises East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Price Target to $106.00

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $106.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

EWBC has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.87.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $80.61 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.16. East West Bancorp has a 52-week low of $49.59 and a 52-week high of $89.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $638.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.61 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 3,450 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,392,713.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. 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 three months. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,582,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $833,469,000 after purchasing an additional 159,963 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $338,142,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,462,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,145,000 after acquiring an additional 72,746 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,993,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,742,000 after acquiring an additional 280,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,480,000 after purchasing an additional 118,658 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.