3,500 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Purchased by Chung Wu Investment Group LLC

Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EWBC. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased 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 worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $178,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 159.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $90.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.57. 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 was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

About East West Bancorp

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.