East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Holdings Lowered by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,322,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 140,482 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $126,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,142,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

East West Bancorp stock opened at $94.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.21. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

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.