East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,350 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of East West Bancorp worth $14,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,174,000 after acquiring an additional 632,245 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,072,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,699,000 after buying an additional 15,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,352,000 after purchasing an additional 68,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.54.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

EWBC stock traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, hitting $94.34. 689,273 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 918,844. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $85.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.55.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

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.