East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.04, for a total value of $1,000,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,820. The trade was a 18.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock opened at $99.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.85. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. Analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 26.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On East West Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Access Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 129,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,775,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 37,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,035,000 after buying an additional 23,125 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,339,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 145.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 163,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,381,000 after buying an additional 96,760 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.08.

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.