Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Takes Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $3,832,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 159.1% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 18,166 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $4,157,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 24,904 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $852,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

EWBC stock opened at $110.05 on Thursday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.34 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.18 and its 200-day moving average is $83.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.27.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Compass Point increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

About East West Bancorp

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.