Caitlin John LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Caitlin John LLC lessened its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.9% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,079,000 after acquiring an additional 148,530 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,223,000 after purchasing an additional 136,528 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,734,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,287,000 after buying an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,438,000 after buying an additional 122,738 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $101.36 on Thursday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 26.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target 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. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,488,358. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.