East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Lindenwold Advisors INC

Lindenwold Advisors INC decreased its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 268 shares during the quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $88.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $96.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.95. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 yield of 2.72%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on EWBC. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.31.

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.