Swiss National Bank Buys 1,000 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 272,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $26,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. UBS Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $88.79 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $96.50 and its 200-day moving average is $94.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.