Boston Partners Sells 62,355 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. by 2.6%, selling 62,355 shares, and now owns approximately 1.68% of the company valued at $208.26 million.
• East West Bancorp reported quarterly earnings of $2.28 EPS, surpassing estimates of $2.23, with a revenue of $705 million reflecting a 10.3% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, resulting in a 2.3% dividend yield for investors, with a payment date set for August 15th.

Boston Partners cut its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,320,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 62,355 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 1.68% of East West Bancorp worth $208,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% during the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 448.9% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.19. The stock had a trading volume of 660,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,479. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.62. 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 $13.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at $91,833,901.32. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.