Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 58,001 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 665,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58,001 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.48% of East West Bancorp worth $74,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 34.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 118.7% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,568,000 after buying an additional 19,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $118.02 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. UBS Group raised East West Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research cut East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 60,221 shares of company stock worth $7,139,287 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.