East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Holdings Increased by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 456,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 108,883 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.33% of East West Bancorp worth $43,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,687,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 60,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,416,694 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC opened at $89.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.77. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. Sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.69%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on EWBC. Barclays boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.46.

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.

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