JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 398,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 46,417 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.29% of East West Bancorp worth $38,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 over the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $72.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,362,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 911,121. 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 capitalization of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $89.37 and its 200 day moving average is $95.07. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.