Swiss National Bank Sells 4,000 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of East West Bancorp worth $24,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% in the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 448.9% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $101.19. 660,895 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,479. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $101.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. East West Bancorp's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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 objective on the stock. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.15.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total value of $4,135,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares in the company, valued at $91,833,901.32. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.