East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Given New $105.00 Price Target at Barclays

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $120.00 to $105.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.00.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $71.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $91.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. East West Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.