Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 13,767 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its East West Bancorp stake by 2.6% in the first quarter, selling 13,767 shares and ending with 509,624 shares valued at about $54.4 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, including CEO Dominic Ng and insider Irene H. Oh, with company insiders selling 54,311 shares worth about $6.8 million over the past 90 days.
• East West Bancorp reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates and posting 11.8% revenue growth year over year, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $134.62.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 509,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,767 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.37% of East West Bancorp worth $54,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $199,529,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,607,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $180,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,781 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 633,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $143,207,000 after purchasing an additional 542,149 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total value of $1,446,219.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at $11,093,742. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 in the last ninety days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.62.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $129.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.67 and a twelve month high of $136.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.63.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. East West Bancorp's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 31.97%.

About East West Bancorp

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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