Sapience Investments LLC Sells 2,837 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Sapience Investments LLC reduced its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,837 shares during the period. Sapience Investments LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Barclays upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00% 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 102,281 shares of company stock worth $9,473,478. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $91.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 358,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.53.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. On average, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.