East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) is Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s 7th Largest Position

Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 121,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,725 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp makes up about 4.4% of Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $11,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,282,000 after acquiring an additional 28,549 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $4,157,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% during the 3rd 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. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 159.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $103.50 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $14.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.77.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. Corporate 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.