Insider Selling: East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) CEO Sells 19,819 Shares of Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Dominic Ng also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 7th, Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81.
• On Friday, March 7th, Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $89.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,085,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,658. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.92.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. 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. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $339,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in East West Bancorp by 16.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in East West Bancorp by 5.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 14.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 26,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.

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.