East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,706,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 53,857 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.23% of East West Bancorp worth $163,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 6,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 9,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $329,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $11,534,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $0.76 on Wednesday, reaching $85.55. 826,328 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 927,528. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.79. The company has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased 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. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,456 shares of company stock worth $5,549,969. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp 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.