Algert Global LLC Has $5.54 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 27.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,624 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $5,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $88.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.78. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $12.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. Sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.64%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 60,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,416,694 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on EWBC. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.46.

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.