Insider Selling: East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Sells 12,000 Shares of Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

East West Bancorp stock opened at $106.72 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $87.83 and its 200-day moving average is $80.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.27. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.62 and a fifty-two week high of $107.33.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in 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 valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.