Norges Bank Buys Shares of 1,739,658 East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,739,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $166,590,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 86.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 6,002 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 58.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 16,592 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $303,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $250,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.8 %

EWBC opened at $89.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.62. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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 paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.81%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.