Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 approximately 1.31% of East West Bancorp worth $150,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $95.91 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.49. The firm has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.55 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Compass Point raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.77.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.