First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Buys 516 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Tobam lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 131.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. The trade was a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,210. The trade was a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $103.91 on Tuesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

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.