Boston Partners Grows Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Boston Partners raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 48.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,713,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 886,841 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 1.93% of East West Bancorp worth $195,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the fourth 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. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,867,632.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,625 shares of company stock worth $1,048,508. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price target 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.08.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $77.18. The stock had a trading volume of 492,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,186,740. The business's 50 day moving average is $75.82 and its 200-day moving average is $70.69. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.69 and a 52 week high of $79.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.01 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.