Jack C. Liu Sells 725 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.9 %

East West Bancorp stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 615,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 940,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.70. The company has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Tobam increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 131.7% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $79,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

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.