Matthew 25 Management Corp Sells 22,500 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Matthew 25 Management Corp decreased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 122,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,500 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp comprises approximately 3.7% of Matthew 25 Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Matthew 25 Management Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $11,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 6.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 11.3% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $3,142,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in East West Bancorp by 10.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 84,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,917,000 after acquiring an additional 8,134 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 21.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $93.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.77.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.