Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 5,666 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,666 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. owned about 0.10% of East West Bancorp worth $11,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 21,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 9,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 37,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on EWBC shares. DA Davidson cut 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 research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 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.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $105.35. The stock had a trading volume of 462,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 931,009. The company's fifty day moving average is $96.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.02 million. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 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.