East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Acquired by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1,574.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,646 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during 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 period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Barclays increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.85.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. The trade was a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,919 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,494 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $2.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $91.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 762,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 922,373. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $87.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's 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.