East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack C. Liu Sells 725 Shares

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business’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 value of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.3 %

East West Bancorp stock opened at $103.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.78. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.8% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.