Graham Capital Management L.P. Grows Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 136.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,346 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $974,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,282,000 after buying an additional 28,549 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,174,000 after buying an additional 632,245 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,699,000 after buying an additional 15,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,352,000 after buying an additional 68,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $95.53. The stock had a trading volume of 74,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,174. The firm has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 100,181 shares of company stock worth $9,273,894 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.46.

About East West Bancorp

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.