Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 780,410 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC has reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 41.6%, now owning approximately 1.1 million shares valued at about $98.4 million.
• CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp at an average price of $103.38, reducing his ownership by 4.31%.
• East West Bancorp posted a quarterly EPS of $2.28, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share with a yield of 2.3%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC cut its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,096,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 780,410 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.79% of East West Bancorp worth $98,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,449,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 25.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,539,000 after buying an additional 5,654 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 35.9% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,450,000 after buying an additional 4,271 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 470.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 6,235 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $1,072,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

EWBC stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $102.15. The company had a trading volume of 831,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,024,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $101.60 and a 200 day moving average of $93.55. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.15.

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.