Voloridge Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 26,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.3%

EWBC opened at $92.37 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.43 and a 200 day moving average of $94.20. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.90. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $113.95. 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 (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,281 shares of company stock valued at $9,473,478. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.85.

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.