Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,541,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 176,818 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.83% of East West Bancorp worth $243,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,282,000 after buying an additional 28,549 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,174,000 after acquiring an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,699,000 after acquiring an additional 15,475 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,352,000 after acquiring an additional 68,528 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 8.6 %

Shares of EWBC traded up $6.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,757,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,948. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $90.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.19. The stock has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson cut their price target 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.46.

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.