34,932 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Acquired by Boothbay Fund Management LLC

Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 34,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,345,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,023,000 after buying an additional 15,829 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,513,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.9% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 2.6 %

EWBC stock traded up $2.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $89.11. The company had a trading volume of 822,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,309. The stock has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.54 and a 200-day moving average of $94.79. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of 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. DA Davidson lowered 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 60,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,416,694 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.