William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 23,126 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 330,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,126 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $37,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,305,257 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,207,000 after purchasing an additional 542,149 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,051,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,146,000 after purchasing an additional 391,059 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $41,243,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $123.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.97. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.26 and a 1-year high of $127.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.30.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

About East West Bancorp

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.