18,395 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Bought by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 18,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,762,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Interval Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,754,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 136.1% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 56,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,374,000 after acquiring an additional 32,346 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,910,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,072,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson dropped 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $90.11. The company had a trading volume of 100,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,579. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.49. The company has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. On average, equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478 over the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.