Swiss National Bank Has $26.10 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of East West Bancorp worth $26,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 108.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,282,000 after acquiring an additional 28,549 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,174,000 after acquiring an additional 632,245 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $4,157,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 24,904 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $88.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.92.

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 issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.