Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,223,000 after buying an additional 136,528 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,763,000 after acquiring an additional 75,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,148,000 after purchasing an additional 186,887 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122,738 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,269,000 after purchasing an additional 447,057 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,783,710.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $89.07 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. StockNews.com cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.