Ballentine Partners LLC Takes $327,000 Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.7% in the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 21,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.9% in the first quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 9,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 37,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.51. 1,239,111 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 934,064. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 25.73%. The business had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.85.

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.