Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 589,928 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. significantly reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 85.6%, selling 589,928 shares, and now holds only 99,410 shares, valued at approximately $8.9 million.
• In contrast, several large investors, including FMR LLC and Invesco Ltd., have increased their stakes in East West Bancorp, indicating continued institutional interest.
• Despite varying analyst ratings, Wells Fargo recently raised its price target for East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00, suggesting a positive outlook for the stock.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 85.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 589,928 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.07% of East West Bancorp worth $8,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 21,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised 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 valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 37,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,191,984. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $1.62 on Friday, hitting $99.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 364,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,039,370. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week 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 0.43. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $100.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. The business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

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.