East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 597,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,130 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.43% of East West Bancorp worth $49,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 362.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 490.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 537 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on EWBC. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.68. The company had a trading volume of 309,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,388. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.72 and a 200-day moving average of $83.41. The company has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.87 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 27.78%.

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.