Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Has $4.03 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. reduced its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 42,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. East West Bancorp comprises 3.3% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $4,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $74.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $93.50 and its 200-day moving average is $95.58. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.78 and a 1 year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company 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.