East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Position Trimmed by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 223,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,026 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.16% of East West Bancorp worth $21,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of EWBC traded up $1.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,412,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 918,828. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,148,260. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.