East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Acquired by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 30.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,268 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $89.08 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.59. The company has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 ninety days, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.