World Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $5.51 Million Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 66,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,513,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,438,000 after acquiring an additional 122,738 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 6.9% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 11,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 29,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 12.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,023,000 after purchasing an additional 15,829 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 2,328 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EWBC. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. The trade was a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $1.41 on Friday, reaching $101.70. The stock had a trading volume of 200,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,411. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The stock has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.59 and a 200 day moving average of $85.45.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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.