Whittier Trust Co. Sells 26,622 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Whittier Trust Co. cut its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 245,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,622 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $26,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 127.6% during the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.62.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 3.4%

EWBC opened at $111.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $119.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.83.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 16.04%. The company had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.21%.

More East West Bancorp News

Here are the key news stories impacting East West Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — EWBC reported $2.52 EPS (vs. $2.48 est.) and revenues of $754.9M, showing year?over?year growth and a beat on both headline metrics. East West Bancorp (EWBC) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Record full?year results and bigger payout — East West reported record 2025 net income of $1.3B (diluted EPS $9.52) and increased the quarterly dividend 33% to $0.80/share, which supports income investors and signals confidence from management. Business Wire: East West Bancorp Reports Record Net Income for 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target uplift — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $135 with an Outperform rating (roughly ~21% above the current level), indicating continued analyst bullishness on medium?term upside. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks lifted forward EPS forecasts — Zacks updated multiple quarterly and FY2026/FY2027 EPS estimates higher, reflecting expectations for continued earnings growth (Zacks still carries a Hold rating). (See Zacks research notes for details.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and full disclosure available — Management commentary and slides from the Q4 call are available for investors to review guidance, asset quality and expense drivers. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings mix — while some price targets were raised, major research houses (e.g., Zacks) maintain a Hold rating; investors should read analyst notes for valuation assumptions and multiples.
• Negative Sentiment: Higher operating costs trimmed investor enthusiasm — coverage notes that non?interest expenses rose year?over?year, which weighed on the stock despite the beat and contributed to the intraday selloff. EWBC Stock Dips Despite Q4 Earnings Beat, Revenues & Costs Rise Y/Y

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $3,408,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 858,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,530,219.82. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $1,017,325.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 14,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719,698.50. This represents a 37.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,344 shares of company stock valued at $8,184,226. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.