Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 39,947 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,947 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.39% of East West Bancorp worth $56,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,807,000 after buying an additional 2,968,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $174,431,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after purchasing an additional 920,159 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 448.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 840,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,861,000 after purchasing an additional 687,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EWBC. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.08.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.90, for a total value of $848,896.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,714 shares in the company, valued at $9,762,824.60. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total transaction of $1,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,820. This represents a 18.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,344 shares of company stock valued at $8,184,226. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.0%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $114.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $117.00.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $627.36 million for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%. Analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.46%.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.