East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Sells $45,980.76 in Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of East West Bancorp 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 sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,210. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $101.69 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.43 and a 1 year high of $107.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.27.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during 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 last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $338,142,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $59,460,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 112.5% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,013,000 after buying an additional 762,958 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $27,404,000 after acquiring an additional 225,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 649,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,578,000 after acquiring an additional 152,334 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Compass Point lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Company 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.