Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 111,401 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,820,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 111,401 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.31% of East West Bancorp worth $150,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $1.04 on Friday, hitting $95.91. The stock had a trading volume of 3,726,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,538. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $101.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.49.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 27.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, 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 transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,193 shares in the company, valued at $11,543,510.50. This represents a 7.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.77.

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.