B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Cuts Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG cut its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,422 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 822.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reduced 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. DA Davidson dropped 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. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $89.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.