Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 5,408 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,408 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,404,000 after purchasing an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 8.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 3.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 6.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 25,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $2,097,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,488,358. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson decreased 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. Piper Sandler cut their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

EWBC stock traded up $1.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.63. The company had a trading volume of 610,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,447. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $67.27 and a one year high of $113.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.80 and a 200-day moving average of $92.34. The stock has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 26.41%.

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.