East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 178.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised 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 acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.38.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $93.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio 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.