East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT decreased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,569 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $652,223,000 after buying an additional 136,528 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,763,000 after buying an additional 75,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,231,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,152,000 after acquiring an additional 96,729 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,438,000 after acquiring an additional 122,738 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $149,287,000 after acquiring an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.38.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp 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 sale, the director now 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 available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $93.89 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.54. 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 twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

East West Bancorp 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.