Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,428,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109,479 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $152,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 239,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,569,000 after purchasing an additional 27,302 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $194,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 239,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 190.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 63,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,830,000 after purchasing an additional 41,951 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.00.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $1,235,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total transaction of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.2%

EWBC stock opened at $131.21 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $136.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $126.34 and its 200 day moving average is $118.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.94.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

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.