Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Sells 8,934 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 623,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,934 shares during the period. East West Bancorp makes up 1.8% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned about 0.45% of East West Bancorp worth $55,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,174,000 after acquiring an additional 632,245 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 25.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $1,072,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 470.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $639,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $1.42 on Friday, hitting $108.87. The stock had a trading volume of 604,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 929,022. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $93.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.64%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.