7,114 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $639,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $166,590,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,174,000 after buying an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,269,000 after buying an additional 447,057 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,052,000 after buying an additional 437,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 10,357.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 367,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,985,000 after acquiring an additional 363,963 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on EWBC. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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 cut their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value 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 $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 available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of East West Bancorp 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 now owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,919 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,494. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $95.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,058,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,422. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.29. The company has a market capitalization of $13.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.52%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio 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.