Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 2,037,138 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 81.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 455,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,037,138 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.33% of East West Bancorp worth $43,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,174,000 after buying an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,699,000 after buying an additional 15,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,352,000 after buying an additional 68,528 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $2.24 on Friday, reaching $89.11. The company had a trading volume of 822,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,342. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company's fifty day moving average is $84.63 and its 200 day moving average is $94.78. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 60,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,416,694. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.