RedJay Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

RedJay Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 66.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 80,000 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp comprises approximately 1.9% of RedJay Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. RedJay Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew 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 worth $46,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted 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 period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began 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 target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 3.8%

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $3.83 on Tuesday, hitting $104.81. The stock had a trading volume of 744,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 930,324. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $92.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.18. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.64%.

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.