Jennison Associates LLC Lowers Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC cut its stake in East West Bancorp by 18.9% in Q4, selling 294,648 shares and now owning 1,265,192 shares (about 0.92%) valued at $142.2 million.
• Analysts have grown more positive—several firms raised price targets recently and the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $132.36.
• East West reported better-than-expected Q results (EPS $2.57 vs. $2.46 est.; revenue $773.8M, +11.8% YoY) and declared a $0.80 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.20, ~2.6% yield).

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,265,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 294,648 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.92% of East West Bancorp worth $142,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,530,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.8% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 22,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,101,000 after purchasing an additional 18,696 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.9% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $361,879,000 after purchasing an additional 334,429 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 14,411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EWBC. UBS Group boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $124.70 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $112.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.92. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.90. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.02 and a 12-month high of $126.50.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. Analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

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.

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