East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Purchased by Amundi

Amundi raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 33.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,279 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, 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 sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 3.5 %

EWBC stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $96.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 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.