East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 approximately 0.93% of East West Bancorp worth $115,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.85.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.41. 261,678 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 930,679. 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 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $14.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $95.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.82.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The company 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 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

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.