Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 18,244 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Edgestream Partners L.P. decreased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 30.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,244 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $256,000. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,105,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in East West Bancorp by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $109.68 on Monday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.87 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. This represents a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,740,210. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on EWBC. Stephens raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.25.

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.