NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $7.26 Million Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 19.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,893 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.06% of East West Bancorp worth $7,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $652,223,000 after purchasing an additional 136,528 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 96,729 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,822,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,480,000 after purchasing an additional 118,658 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $149,287,000 after acquiring an additional 123,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,460,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Compass Point upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.08.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,543,510.50. This trade represents a 7.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock traded down $1.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $105.46. The stock had a trading volume of 346,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 921,822. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.39 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

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.