East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.2% in the first quarter, selling 40,077 shares and still holding 1.23 million shares worth about $130.8 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on EWBC: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $138.31, while firms like Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald recently raised their price targets to $150.
• East West Bancorp posted better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $2.57 per share versus the $2.46 estimate, and also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, or $3.20 annualized.

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,225,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,077 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.89% of East West Bancorp worth $130,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total value of $106,552.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at $11,280,926.62. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711 over the last three months. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $134.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $127.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.67 and a 52 week high of $136.24.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $767.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

East West Bancorp Profile

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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