Norges Bank Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,739,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $166,590,000. Norges Bank owned 1.25% of East West Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 86.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 6,002 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 58.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,712,000 after buying an additional 16,592 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $303,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in East West Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $250,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.31.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 5.0 %

NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $3.88 on Friday, reaching $74.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,883,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,200. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average is $93.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

East West Bancorp 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.