Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 5,654 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 25.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,197,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,359,511,000 after purchasing an additional 70,503 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,990,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $765,167,000 after purchasing an additional 107,665 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $423,148,000 after purchasing an additional 186,887 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,052,000 after purchasing an additional 437,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in East West Bancorp by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,831,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $272,652,000 after purchasing an additional 183,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.64 on Friday, reaching $101.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,304,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 930,858. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.92. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.56 and its 200-day moving average is $92.18.

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

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 928,314 shares in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on EWBC. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.85.

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.