Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 171.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 384,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 242,928 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of East West Bancorp worth $36,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $89.08 on Monday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $97.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.78. 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 firm has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued 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 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.