Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,590,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,174,000 after buying an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,269,000 after acquiring an additional 447,057 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $32,138,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,847,000 after acquiring an additional 242,928 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $72.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The firm has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on EWBC shares. Barclays lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.46.

East West Bancorp 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.