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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.76. The company had a trading volume of 176,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,914. The firm has a market cap of $14.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.17 and a 200-day moving average of $91.86. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 152.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,404,000 after buying an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 8.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 6.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 25,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,839,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $2,097,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.