Investment House LLC Acquires Shares of 2,250 East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Investment House LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. 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 corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $90.36 on Thursday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.78 and a one year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.

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.