Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 689.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,093 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 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. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $93.61. 1,000,468 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 925,936. The company's 50-day moving average price is $88.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.71. The company has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current 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.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. On average, equities analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

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.