East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 18.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,250 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.2% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 6,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $3,574,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 58,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,235,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $107.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.43 and a 200-day moving average of $101.69. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $111.97.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 26.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.08.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 7,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,339.88. The trade was a 16.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total transaction of $1,000,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,820. This represents a 18.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,139 shares of company stock worth $2,301,906. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.