Comerica Bank Reduces Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Comerica Bank trimmed its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 38.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 72,181 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned 0.08% of East West Bancorp worth $10,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 60,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,416,694. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $89.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.54 and a 200 day moving average of $94.77.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.46.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.