East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,820,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 111,401 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $150,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $338,142,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $59,460,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 112.5% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,013,000 after buying an additional 762,958 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,404,000 after buying an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.6% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 649,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,578,000 after acquiring an additional 152,334 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point upped their target price 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $101.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.43 and a 52 week high of $107.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total value of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,543,510.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,969 shares of company stock worth $1,345,956 in the last three months. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Company 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.