Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Takes Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $118,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% in the 4th 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 increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,148,260. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $89.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.01.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 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.