Insider Selling: East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Sells 1,275 Shares of Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) 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 value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

EWBC stock opened at $102.97 on Monday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.12.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 131.7% in the third quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by 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.