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

Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.9% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.95. 860,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 932,478. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $97.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.25.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.64%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EWBC. Barclays raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.85.

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.