Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 49.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 470 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $89.07 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.54. The firm has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target 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, January 27th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.

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.