East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.5%, now owning approximately 175,800 shares valued at $15.78 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Dominic Ng selling 40,000 shares for over $4 million, reducing his ownership by 4.31% to approximately 888,314 shares.
• Analysts have recently increased their price targets for East West Bancorp, with the stock receiving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a new target price of $116.64.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 175,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,594 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.13% of East West Bancorp worth $15,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 5,654 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 35.9% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 470.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth $639,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $835,706.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 105,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,565,111.60. The trade was a 6.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.64.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.2%

EWBC opened at $109.27 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $104.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.97. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

East West Bancorp Company 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.

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