Bridgefront Capital LLC Lowers Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Bridgefront Capital LLC lowered its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 70.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,852 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Barclays PLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 12.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,023,000 after buying an additional 15,829 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,800,000 after acquiring an additional 7,645 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,021,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,343. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.66. The company has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. 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 current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Barclays raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 60,181 shares of company stock worth $5,416,694 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.