Boston Trust Walden Corp Reduces Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.7% in Q4, selling 8,929 shares and now owning 523,391 shares worth $58.8M (about 0.38% of the company).
• Insiders have sold 60,221 shares valued at $7.14M over the last 90 days (including director sales by Molly Campbell and Jack C. Liu), while hedge funds and institutions collectively own 89.53% of EWBC.
• EWBC beat estimates for the recent quarter with $2.57 EPS, increased its quarterly dividend to $0.80 (a $3.20 annualized payout, 2.6% yield), and holds a "Moderate Buy" analyst consensus with an average price target of $127.36 amid mixed individual rating changes.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 523,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,929 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.38% of East West Bancorp worth $58,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at $706,894.36. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $120.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $77.02 and a one year high of $123.82. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 33.61%.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.

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