Marshall Wace LLP Invests $11.53 Million in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 120,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,534,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.09% of East West Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 757,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,018. 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 market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.78.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.46.

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.