East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,094,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,141 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.79% of East West Bancorp worth $89,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Tobam increased its position in East West Bancorp by 131.7% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total transaction of $147,975.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,049,537.35. The trade was a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,969 shares of company stock worth $2,458,276 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:EWBC traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $111.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,986. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $93.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.34 and a 12 month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.25.

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.