FORA Capital LLC Invests $1.07 Million in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

EWBC stock traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $95.19. The stock had a trading volume of 158,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,302. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.67. The firm has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 100,181 shares of company stock worth $9,273,894 over the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.54.

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.