132,980 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 132,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,734,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.10% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,157,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 24,904 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 159.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,287,000 after acquiring an additional 123,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $1.31 on Friday, reaching $100.80. The stock had a trading volume of 612,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,293. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $101.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.09. 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 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.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 27.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EWBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. The trade was a 12.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.