Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 13,767 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 509,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,767 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $54,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.30 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $136.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.62.

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.