Jennison Associates LLC Reduces Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Jennison Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,265,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 294,648 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $142,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EWBC. Stephens upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $124.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.02 and a 52-week high of $126.50. The firm has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.59% and a return on equity of 16.00%. The firm had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 31.97%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 808,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock worth $7,139,287 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.94% 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.