SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 32.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 639 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,079,000 after acquiring an additional 148,530 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,734,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $98.97 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.36 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.94. The company has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a boost 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 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson cut 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.38.

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.