Act Two Investors LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Act Two Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 52.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $775,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,632.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at $9,867,632.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,625 shares of company stock worth $1,048,508 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.1 %

EWBC traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.79. The company had a trading volume of 578,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 798,044. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.39 and a 12 month high of $79.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $75.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.88. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.38.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.71%.

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.