Jennison Associates LLC Sells 135,503 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,668,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 135,503 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 1.20% of East West Bancorp worth $159,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.9% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,079,000 after acquiring an additional 148,530 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $652,223,000 after buying an additional 136,528 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $12,734,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,438,000 after buying an additional 122,738 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,231,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $350,152,000 after buying an additional 96,729 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of EWBC traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $102.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,364,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,397. The firm has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $100.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.38.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,000 shares of company stock worth $1,488,358. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Company 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.