East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,243 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.08% of East West Bancorp worth $9,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 148,530 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $652,223,000 after purchasing an additional 136,528 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $12,734,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $97.12. 644,610 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 868,652. The business's fifty day moving average is $98.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.51. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. 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 yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.