Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Has $42.96 Million Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 42.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 543,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 397,748 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.39% of East West Bancorp worth $42,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 19.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,448,000 after acquiring an additional 19,627 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,243,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $803,502,000 after acquiring an additional 215,281 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 2,131 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $427,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 652,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,543. The firm has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.78 and a 200-day moving average of $73.87. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.59 and a 12 month high of $82.50.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 127,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $590,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,234,045.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total value of $775,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.