Ethic Inc. Reduces Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Ethic Inc. decreased its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 100,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,699,000 after acquiring an additional 15,475 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,352,000 after purchasing an additional 68,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 100,181 shares of company stock valued at $9,273,894 in the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $96.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.66.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.54.

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.