East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. cut its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 95.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 300,776 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 386,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,003,000 after acquiring an additional 4,977 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 57,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,544,000 after purchasing an additional 12,624 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 105,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.33. The stock had a trading volume of 683,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,888. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. On average, analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,181 shares of company stock worth $5,416,694. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson decreased their target price on 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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 lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.46.

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.