Natural Investments LLC Takes $1.54 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,539,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew 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 buying an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,138,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 171.3% in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $423,148,000 after purchasing an additional 186,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.9% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,079,000 after buying an additional 148,530 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $84.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a PEG 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. The company's 50-day moving average price is $97.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.38.

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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.

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