Doheny Asset Management CA Trims Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Doheny Asset Management CA decreased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,263 shares during the quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 65.1% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% in the fourth 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on 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 issued a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.1 %

EWBC traded up $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $75.09. 1,338,236 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,195,058. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $79.54. The company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.20.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. East West Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.