Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 149,660 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,718,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 149,660 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.96% of East West Bancorp worth $224,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $110.08 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.34 and a 52-week high of $110.31. The company has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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. The company 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,543,510.50. The trade was a 7.86 % decrease in their position. 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 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp 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.