East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP reduced its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,675,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,827,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,313,000 after acquiring an additional 487,418 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 863,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,521,000 after acquiring an additional 391,702 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 392.1% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 453,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,921,000 after acquiring an additional 361,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 256.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 487,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,690,000 after acquiring an additional 350,706 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.64. 1,173,505 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,017,462. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.38. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.12 and a 12-month high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. East West Bancorp’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.08.

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.