Amundi Grows Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Amundi lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 33.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,279 shares during the period. Amundi's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,687,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of 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. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EWBC. UBS Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $2.16 on Wednesday, reaching $90.35. The company had a trading volume of 675,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,180. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.78 and a 12 month 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $96.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.81%.

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.