AXQ Capital LP Sells 2,401 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

AXQ Capital LP decreased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 53.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,401 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 259,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,824,000 after buying an additional 18,756 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 126,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,096,000 after acquiring an additional 5,155 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 259,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,887,000 after purchasing an additional 9,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 39,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,811,000 after purchasing an additional 4,162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of 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 lowered their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.31.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $93.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.19.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

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.