Boston Partners Has $228.27 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 447,057 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 1.72% of East West Bancorp worth $228,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth 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. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $79,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.31.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $89.99. The stock had a trading volume of 4,354,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 840,237. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.01.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

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.