EAM Global Investors LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

EAM Global Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,283,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,174,000 after acquiring an additional 632,245 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,699,000 after purchasing an additional 15,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,352,000 after buying an additional 68,528 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.46.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $1.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,412,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,382. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $86.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.79.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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 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.