East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Acquired by Amundi

Amundi lifted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 33.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,279 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $339,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 16.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 14.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 26,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 117,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,738,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $87.97 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.80.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Compass Point upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,022 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.