Rafferty Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & 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 0.11% of East West Bancorp worth $14,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during 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. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% 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, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.85.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $91.23. The stock had a trading volume of 326,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,247. 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 current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $85.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. On average, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

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.