East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stake Lifted by Algert Global LLC

Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,624 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 60,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,416,694 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.0 %

EWBC stock opened at $88.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research 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. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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