NewEdge Advisors LLC Raises Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 427.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,206 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $0.97 on Monday, reaching $86.23. 1,091,899 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 925,595. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.14 and a 200-day moving average of $94.92.

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. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.64%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded 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 report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.46.

East West Bancorp Company 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.