Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Sells 4,950 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,950 shares during the quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Tobam raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 131.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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. Stephens raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.25.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $109.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $95.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.87 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

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.