Vest Financial LLC Raises Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 366,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,507 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.26% of East West Bancorp worth $35,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 362.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Tobam grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 131.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $1,279,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,000 shares of company stock worth $1,488,358. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. DA Davidson cut their price objective 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. Finally, Compass Point increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $100.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.21 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.30 and a 200-day moving average of $92.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.41%.

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.