By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 335,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,138,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.
East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %
NASDAQ EWBC opened at $85.03 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.
East West Bancorp Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.
View Our Latest Report on East West Bancorp
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.
See Also
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