Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 2,579 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,579 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $303,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $250,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 2,518 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at $87,148,260. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 in the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on EWBC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on 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. Compass Point raised 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $74.04 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.50 and its 200 day moving average is $95.48.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.