Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 149,660 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,718,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 149,660 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $224,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 5.4% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 105,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,369,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $110.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.34 and a 12-month high of $110.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.25.

East West Bancorp 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.