Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes $1.20 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,203,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in East West Bancorp by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28,549 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $4,157,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 24,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 159.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 18,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $93.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.10. The stock has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30.

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 $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EWBC. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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 target price on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens cut East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.