Truist Financial Corp Purchases 5,781 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,781 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. FMR LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 136,528 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,763,000 after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,231,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,152,000 after buying an additional 96,729 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,438,000 after acquiring an additional 122,738 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,287,000 after acquiring an additional 123,376 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson cut 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 report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.38.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $93.63 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.