Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Buys Shares of 4,670 East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Truist Financial started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.85.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related 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 transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $90.42. 86,094 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 916,396. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $12.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.53.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

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.