LPL Financial LLC Has $4.36 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,251 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $250,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 27.5% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 4,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,799,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 8.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $77.16 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. The firm has a market cap of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.19. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. 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. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.46.

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.