Barclays PLC Increases Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Barclays PLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 38,307 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.13% of East West Bancorp worth $17,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $5,513,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 21.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,800,000 after purchasing an additional 7,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,552,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,414,000 after purchasing an additional 90,618 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.46.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $85.83. 148,491 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,675. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company's 50-day moving average price is $85.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.