East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 64.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,541 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.5% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the second quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stephens upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.21.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

EWBC stock opened at $114.42 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $119.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $754.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.21%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719,698.50. The trade was a 37.17% 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 the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 858,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,530,219.82. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,364 shares of company stock worth $8,085,227. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.