Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 30,960 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 46.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,960 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,174,000 after acquiring an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,269,000 after purchasing an additional 447,057 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $32,138,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,847,000 after purchasing an additional 242,928 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,148,000 after buying an additional 186,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $88.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.68.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.