Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $32.14 Million in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 335,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,138,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EWBC. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 9,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 35,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $339,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the 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 transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,022. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $85.03 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped 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 boosted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.31.

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.