111 Capital Purchases New Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $166,590,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,174,000 after buying an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,269,000 after buying an additional 447,057 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $289,052,000 after buying an additional 437,676 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $32,138,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.97. 495,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,934. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, 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. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $85.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.73. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Barclays lifted 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. DA Davidson reduced 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,281 shares of company stock worth $9,473,478. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About East West Bancorp

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.