6,754 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,754 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $22,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 22.4% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.0% during the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 13.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Marathon Mission Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Marathon Mission Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 35,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.57, for a total transaction of $4,572,953.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 637,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,294,520.10. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Manuel Alvarez sold 810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.40, for a total transaction of $105,624.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,629 shares in the company, valued at $1,386,021.60. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 70,810 shares of company stock worth $9,299,738 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.71.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 737,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,746. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.80. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.72 and a 52 week high of $137.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.99.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.75%. The company had revenue of $822.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $811.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.45%.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for East West Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the bank initially served Chinese American communities in Southern California and has since expanded its services and geographic reach. East West Bank provides personal and business banking, commercial lending, trade finance, treasury management and other financial services. Its customers include individuals, small and midsize businesses, and larger companies, with a focus on supporting commerce between the United States and Asia.