East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 22.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,338 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $6,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968,716 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,819,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,650,000 after purchasing an additional 86,171 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.2% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,294,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $433,640,000 after buying an additional 134,541 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,271,000 after acquiring an additional 920,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,060,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,094,000 after acquiring an additional 186,865 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

More East West Bancorp News

Here are the key news stories impacting East West Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 (from $0.60), payable Feb. 17; annualized $3.20 and ~2.6–2.7% yield — a direct return to shareholders and signal of confidence in cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat expectations: $2.52 EPS vs. $2.48 expected and revenue of $754.9M vs. $745M consensus — improves near-term earnings credibility and supports valuation multiples.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive: multiple buy/overweight ratings and price-target increases (consensus target ~ $128) — supports upside narrative and may attract momentum buyers.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (~89.5%) and recent small fund flows show mixed adds and new positions — indicates largely stable long-term holder base but limited incremental catalyst from new institutional buying.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data appears effectively zero/immaterial in the latest snapshot — low short activity reduces risk of squeeze-driven volatility but also limits short-covering as a price tailwind.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares (~$5.9M at ~$117.82) and other insiders (EVP Gary Teo, Director Jack Liu, Director Molly Campbell) also reduced holdings — large insider sales can be read by the market as liquidity-taking and may weigh on sentiment if not explained (e.g., diversification, tax planning). CEO Form 4 EVP Form 4 Director Form 4 Director Form 4

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 3.4%

East West Bancorp stock opened at $122.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.42. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $123.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.The business had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.90, for a total value of $848,896.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 85,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,762,824.60. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 121,585 shares of company stock valued at $14,121,904. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.