East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack C. Liu Sells 725 Shares

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.02. The company had a trading volume of 615,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 940,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $101.28 and its 200-day moving average is $91.70.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 152.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,404,000 after purchasing an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 39.9% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,079,000 after buying an additional 148,530 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,223,000 after acquiring an additional 136,528 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,734,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,287,000 after acquiring an additional 123,376 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.