Invesco Ltd. Increases Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,018,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 437,676 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 2.18% of East West Bancorp worth $289,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,687,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.46.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, hitting $76.32. 218,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 912,468. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $88.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.98.

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 paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

East West Bancorp 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.