National Bank of Canada FI Sells 37,874 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 52.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,874 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,197,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,359,511,000 after acquiring an additional 70,503 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $439,763,000 after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $423,148,000 after purchasing an additional 186,887 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,831,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $272,652,000 after purchasing an additional 183,675 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $216,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122,738 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $0.99 on Friday, reaching $72.16. 1,362,350 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 911,121. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $89.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.07. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.46.

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.