Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 70,503 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,197,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,503 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.24% of East West Bancorp worth $1,359,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $90.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.24. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on EWBC. UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays cut 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 assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.31.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.