Prudential Financial Inc. Has $3.47 Million Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 46.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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 SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

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

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.

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.