Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,819,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 358,595 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $204,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on EWBC. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. 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 reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of 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, UBS Group raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock worth $7,139,287. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $115.55 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.60. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.02 and a 1 year high of $123.82. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.61%.

About East West Bancorp

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.