East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 959,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,156 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.69% of East West Bancorp worth $91,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,849,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $94.34. 689,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 917,075. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $85.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.55.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. On average, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. Truist Financial assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.54.

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.