East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Sells $75,762.50 in Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $103.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $101.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.78.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company 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.