First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. Decreases Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. lowered its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 583 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp accounts for 1.3% of First Wilshire Securities Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 86.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 6,002 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 58.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 16,592 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $303,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on EWBC. Compass Point upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock opened at $88.72 on Wednesday. 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 50 day moving average price of $94.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.68. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.81%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. 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.