East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 41.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,037 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,223,000 after acquiring an additional 136,528 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,763,000 after acquiring an additional 75,024 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,231,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,152,000 after purchasing an additional 96,729 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the 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 approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,194 shares of company stock worth $1,401,063. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $103.59 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.78.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 27.78%.

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.