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

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,820,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 111,401 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.31% of East West Bancorp worth $150,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in East West Bancorp by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EWBC. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $167,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,382,509.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,740,210. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,969 shares of company stock worth $1,345,956. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

EWBC stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $102.65. 634,266 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,895. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.43 and a 12-month high of $107.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.27.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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.