East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,538,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 62,201 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $172,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,207,000 after purchasing an additional 542,149 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,051,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $207,146,000 after purchasing an additional 391,059 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,243,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,879,000 after acquiring an additional 334,429 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,842.68. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,474,277. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $123.55 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.31. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.21 and a 52-week high of $127.51. The firm has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. East West Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

East West Bancorp Profile

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.