Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 242,928 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 171.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 384,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 242,928 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of East West Bancorp worth $36,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in East West Bancorp by 39.9% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,079,000 after acquiring an additional 148,530 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $652,223,000 after acquiring an additional 136,528 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,734,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on 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 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $85.03. 989,625 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 858,309. 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 simple moving average is $97.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.74. 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 company has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

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 issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

East West Bancorp Company 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.