Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Trims Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning lessened its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,028 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,243,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $803,502,000 after acquiring an additional 215,281 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,582,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $833,469,000 after acquiring an additional 159,963 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,215,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,370,000 after buying an additional 751,944 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,713,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,279,000 after buying an additional 886,841 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,462,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,145,000 after buying an additional 72,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $72.65 on Thursday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $49.59 and a one year high of $79.54. The company has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.55.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $590,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,234,045.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $590,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,234,045.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $775,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.77.

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.