Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Grows Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1,178.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,425 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $96.66 and a 200-day moving average of $94.71. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,022 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.31.

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.