East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,428,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109,479 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.04% of East West Bancorp worth $152,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $1,530,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.8% during the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 22,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after acquiring an additional 11,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,101,000 after acquiring an additional 18,696 shares in the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,044,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,825,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,523,000 after purchasing an additional 27,402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $131.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.67 and a 12 month high of $136.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.52. The stock has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.00.

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.