Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 632,245 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1,667.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and 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 quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $64,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 159.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $89.08 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

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.