Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 122,622 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 689,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 122,622 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.50% of East West Bancorp worth $66,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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 shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.31.

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East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $2.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,827,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,383. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $12.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $96.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.80.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 2.73%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. 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.