Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 8,152 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.5%, owning 1,697,973 shares valued at $152.39 million.
• Invesco Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 155.6%, now owning 7,714,661 shares worth approximately $692.47 million.
• East West Bancorp reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.28 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.05, and announced an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,697,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,152 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.23% of East West Bancorp worth $152,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% in the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% in 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 raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 4.5%

EWBC traded up $4.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.20. 935,932 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 749,619. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $102.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.63. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%.The business had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,270. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.