William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $37.18 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management trimmed its East West Bancorp stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,126 shares and leaving it with 330,834 shares worth about $37.18 million.
• Insiders also sold shares: CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares for about $3.7 million, and Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares, while insiders as a group own 0.94% of the stock.
• East West Bancorp posted solid results, beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and recently paid a $0.80 quarterly dividend, which works out to a 2.6% annualized yield.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,126 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.24% of East West Bancorp worth $37,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,954.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 3,107 shares during the period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $1,044,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 789 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. The trade was a 11.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $123.12 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.26 and a fifty-two week high of $127.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.30.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.69.

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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