East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Position Cut by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 12.2%, now holding 39,998 shares worth approximately $3.59 million.
• East West Bancorp reported a 10.3% year-over-year increase in revenue, with earnings per share of $2.28, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, providing a yield of 2.4% with a payout ratio of 28.04%.

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,535 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 3.7% in the first quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 0.7% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 21,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 9,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of EWBC opened at $101.19 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $101.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 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 posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Truist Financial raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. DA Davidson raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised 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. Citigroup raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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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