East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Bought by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,201 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS owned approximately 0.10% of East West Bancorp worth $13,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % 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. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Stephens cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 2.0 %

East West Bancorp stock opened at $89.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.42. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

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.