Citigroup Inc. Sells 9,615 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Citigroup Inc. reduced its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,615 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.09% of East West Bancorp worth $10,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $59,460,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,404,000 after acquiring an additional 225,799 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 649,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,578,000 after acquiring an additional 152,334 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,078,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the third 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 period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wedbush raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.25.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $110.05 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.34 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.27.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

East West Bancorp Company 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.