East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Sells $1,000,400.00 in Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total transaction of $1,000,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,820. This represents a 18.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of EWBC traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $99.96. The company had a trading volume of 445,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 993,362. The firm has a market cap of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $104.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%.The firm had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EWBC. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research raised East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Cowen initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.08.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.2% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth $225,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.5% in the first quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.9% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.2% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 33,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,982,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.