Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 99,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $100,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of East West Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $85.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.67. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. 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 firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 28.81%.

Insider Activity

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,362 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,022. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company 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.