Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 41,086 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,281,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,086 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.93% of East West Bancorp worth $115,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 25.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 5,654 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 470.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 6,235 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $1,072,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $639,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,317,000 after buying an additional 3,460 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.1%

EWBC traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.95. 830,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 933,137. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $96.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.86.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.85.

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.