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

AXQ Capital LP cut its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 53.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $79,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

East West Bancorp Trading Up 3.6 %

EWBC opened at $93.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.03 and a 200-day moving average of $95.19. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 in the last three months. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.