Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 6,240 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 463,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,240 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $44,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,079,000 after acquiring an additional 148,530 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,223,000 after buying an additional 136,528 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $12,734,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,287,000 after acquiring an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,438,000 after acquiring an additional 122,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $100.13 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.19. The stock has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.41%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,488,358 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

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.