East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 793,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49,618 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.58% of East West Bancorp worth $84,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 43.2% during the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 8,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 46,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,974,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,915,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,470,000 after purchasing an additional 168,029 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $131.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $136.24.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $791.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.23.

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.