Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Purchases 1,010 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 115,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,894,000 after buying an additional 36,554 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 104,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,963,000 after buying an additional 24,243 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 40,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after buying an additional 4,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 928,314 shares in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,919 shares of company stock worth $5,840,494. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock opened at $91.52 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.83. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.02 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EWBC. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. 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.