East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,557 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.13% of East West Bancorp worth $17,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of EWBC traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $73.22. The company had a trading volume of 79,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,948. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.16. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.46.

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.