East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Bought by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 40,757.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,117 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $7,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $71.56 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.52. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.12 and a 52 week high of $79.54. The stock has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 29.11% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares in the company, valued at $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.