East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

Key Points

• BI Asset Management cut its East West Bancorp stake by 41.9% in the first quarter, leaving it with 19,422 shares valued at about $2.07 million. Other institutional investors still own a large majority of the stock, with institutional ownership at 89.53%.
• East West Bancorp posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $2.57 versus the $2.46 consensus and revenue of $773.75 million, up 11.8% year over year. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $133.69.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, including Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause and CEO Dominic Ng, with total insider sales reaching 54,311 shares over the last 90 days. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, or $3.20 annualized, for a 2.4% yield.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 41.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,009 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased 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 report on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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 note on Tuesday, March 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $131.15 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $136.00. The stock has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The company 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 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. East West Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.