Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 8,190 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,190 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $9,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 822.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of 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. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $89.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.35 and a 200-day moving average of $95.42. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.78 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Profile

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.