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

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,600,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 89,694 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.16% of East West Bancorp worth $170,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $224,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 37,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,035,000 after buying an additional 23,125 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,339,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in East West Bancorp by 145.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 163,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,381,000 after buying an additional 96,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 128,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,683,000 after acquiring an additional 3,122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total transaction of $1,017,325.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719,698.50. This represents a 37.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $3,408,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 858,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,530,219.82. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 62,364 shares of company stock worth $7,084,827 in the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 target price on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.21.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $114.44 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $119.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.09.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $754.92 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. Sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 25.21%.

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.