Secure Asset Management LLC Purchases New Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,095,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,174,000 after purchasing an additional 632,245 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $1,072,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,699,000 after buying an additional 15,475 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,352,000 after buying an additional 68,528 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued 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 given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $0.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $91.53. 526,155 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,788. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $85.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.73.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. Sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 928,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.