East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,671 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $166,590,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,174,000 after purchasing an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,269,000 after purchasing an additional 447,057 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,052,000 after purchasing an additional 437,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $32,138,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,181 shares of company stock valued at $9,273,894. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $95.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.67. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $13.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released 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. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on 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. Truist Financial started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.54.

About East West Bancorp

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.

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