LSV Asset Management Has $40.45 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 562,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,700 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.40% of East West Bancorp worth $40,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in East West Bancorp by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc grew its position in East West Bancorp by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $77.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 564,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,212,890. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company's 50-day moving average is $75.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.82. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.60 and a fifty-two week high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.08.

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.