Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 44,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,715,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $338,142,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,460,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,404,000 after purchasing an additional 225,799 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 152,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $9,078,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

East West Bancorp stock opened at $103.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.34 and a 52-week high of $107.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.53.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,969 shares of company stock worth $2,625,276 over the last three months. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

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.