Danske Bank A S Reduces Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S cut its position in East West Bancorp by 90.6% in Q4, selling 13,446 shares and leaving a stake of 1,400 shares valued at $157,000.
• East West beat quarterly estimates with EPS $2.57 (vs. $2.46) and revenue $773.8M (vs. $767.8M), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 (2.6% yield) payable May 18.
• About 89.5% of the stock is held by institutions—several large funds increased stakes—while insiders sold ~40,600 shares in the quarter, including CEO Dominic Ng's 30,000-share sale (~$3.7M).

Danske Bank A S cut its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 90.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,446 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,874,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 633,649 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the second 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. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,051,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $207,146,000 after purchasing an additional 391,059 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,243,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $361,879,000 after purchasing an additional 334,429 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $125.22 on Thursday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.58 and a 12-month high of $127.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.53.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.During the same period last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 737,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,126,975.70. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,009,878. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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