East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Position Lowered by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 140,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,641 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $13,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in 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 worth $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 quarter, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $89.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.78 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.30. The stock has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

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.