MetLife Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,510 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of East West Bancorp worth $7,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,023,000 after buying an additional 15,829 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,513,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $26,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,959,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 21.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,800,000 after acquiring an additional 7,645 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.26. The company had a trading volume of 757,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,240. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 in the last three months. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.46.

About East West Bancorp

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.