East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Acquired by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 466,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 126,206 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.34% of East West Bancorp worth $44,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake 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 worth $12,023,000 after buying an additional 15,829 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.9% in 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 during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $96.20. The company had a trading volume of 445,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,579. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The business's 50 day moving average price is $84.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.65. The firm has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released 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%. Research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,181 shares of company stock worth $9,273,894. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.54.

East West Bancorp Company 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.