Pinebridge Investments L.P. Buys 4,731 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,731 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. owned 0.07% of East West Bancorp worth $9,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,043,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Natixis bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $136,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 78,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,482,000 after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam raised its position in East West Bancorp by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 7,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,456 shares of company stock worth $5,549,969. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.46.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ EWBC traded down $1.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $84.52. 129,265 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,487. The firm has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

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.