ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 2,714 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 212,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,714 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of East West Bancorp worth $19,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.3%

EWBC stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $108.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 604,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,688. The company has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50-day moving average is $93.48 and its 200-day moving average is $92.42. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.23%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $108.38.

East West Bancorp 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.