Trillium Asset Management LLC Sells 48,510 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Trillium Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,510 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $19,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.9% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,395,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,879,000 after acquiring an additional 334,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 14,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $132.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.59. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.79 and a 12-month high of $132.88. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total value of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,661,152.05. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 53,511 shares of company stock worth $6,678,159 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

East West Bancorp Profile

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.