Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 67,422 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,177,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 67,422 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.58% of East West Bancorp worth $231,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in East West Bancorp by 127.6% in the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 82.6% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total transaction of $159,189.60. Following the sale, the director owned 7,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,339.88. This trade represents a 16.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $1,017,325.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719,698.50. This represents a 37.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 73,344 shares of company stock valued at $8,184,226 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $115.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.67. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $119.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $645.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.75 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial set a $120.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.38.

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.