Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,541 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the second quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 15.7% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.0% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. 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. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.21.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $3,408,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 858,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,530,219.82. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total value of $159,189.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,339.88. The trade was a 16.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,364 shares of company stock valued at $8,085,227. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $114.42 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $119.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.01. The company has a market cap of $15.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 25.21%.

East West Bancorp Company 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.