East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Sapience Investments LLC

Sapience Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 35.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,837 shares during the period. Sapience Investments LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $95.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.86 and its 200-day moving average is $94.62. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,281 shares of company stock worth $9,473,478 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.54.

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.