East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Acquired by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,682 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,201 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS owned approximately 0.10% of East West Bancorp worth $13,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $166,590,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $64,174,000 after purchasing an additional 632,245 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,269,000 after purchasing 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 valued at approximately $32,138,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 171.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,847,000 after buying an additional 242,928 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 11.5 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded down $10.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $80.34. 940,594 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,558. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $94.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.65. The firm has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler cut 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. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.