Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1,667.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 670,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.48% of East West Bancorp worth $64,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $79,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

EWBC opened at $89.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $97.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.78. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.78 and a one year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 14,557 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,362 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,022. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About East West Bancorp

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.