New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 20,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,973,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in 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. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,699,000 after purchasing an additional 15,475 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,352,000 after buying an additional 68,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler dropped 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.31.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $3.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $74.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,883,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,468. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $93.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.48. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $58.61 and a one year high of $113.95. 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 has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

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.