East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) CEO Dominic Ng Sells 34,977 Shares of Company Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) CEO Dominic Ng sold 34,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.12, for a total value of $4,621,161.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 672,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,910,550.36. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $2.13 on Monday, hitting $130.97. The stock had a trading volume of 835,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,985. The stock has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.72 and a twelve month high of $137.47. The business’s 50 day moving average is $128.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.37.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $822.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.07 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EWBC. Citigroup increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.15.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 723,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,610,000 after purchasing an additional 9,185 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 16.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,760,000 after purchasing an additional 8,672 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 49.0% in the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 2,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 26.3% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,808 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is the holding company for East West Bank, a commercial bank headquartered in Pasadena, California. Founded in 1973, the bank initially served Chinese American communities in Southern California and has since expanded its services and geographic reach.

East West Bank provides personal and business banking, commercial lending, trade finance, treasury management and other financial services. Its customers include individuals, small and midsize businesses, and larger companies, with a focus on supporting commerce between the United States and Asia.

The bank operates across several U.S.