Avanza Fonder AB Purchases New Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,018,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.5% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of EWBC traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $100.80. The stock had a trading volume of 612,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,293. The company has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.50, for a total transaction of $985,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,543,510.50. This trade represents a 7.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.77.

About East West Bancorp

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.