Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 17,030 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,524,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,030 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.82% of East West Bancorp worth $226,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $166,590,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,269,000 after buying an additional 447,057 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $289,052,000 after buying an additional 437,676 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 10,357.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 367,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,985,000 after buying an additional 363,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.85.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.7%

EWBC traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 860,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,478. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $97.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 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.