East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC cut its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,766 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,138,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 171.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,847,000 after acquiring an additional 242,928 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $423,148,000 after acquiring an additional 186,887 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $43,079,000 after purchasing an additional 148,530 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third 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 last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

EWBC traded down $0.40 on Thursday, hitting $85.03. 989,625 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 858,309. 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 company has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.74. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95.

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. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Company 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.