Edgestream Partners L.P. Has $3.23 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,202 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $149,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 128.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 6,009 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.8% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,483,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $327,000. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 218,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,633,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

EWBC stock traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.95. 860,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 933,604. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. 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 is currently 28.64%.

About East West Bancorp

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.