Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 6,106 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,106 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 72.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,238,000 after acquiring an additional 13,477 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 15.7% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in East West Bancorp by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 233,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,611,000 after acquiring an additional 4,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $106.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $123.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,807. This trade represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total value of $5,891,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 60,221 shares of company stock worth $7,139,287. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company 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.