Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 207,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of East West Bancorp worth $19,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $166,590,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in 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 period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,269,000 after acquiring an additional 447,057 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $32,138,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 171.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,847,000 after buying an additional 242,928 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, 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 transaction of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.46.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $1.53 on Friday, hitting $77.43. 1,412,011 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 918,828. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

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