Insider Selling: East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) CEO Sells $5,891,000.00 in Stock

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.82, for a total transaction of $5,891,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 808,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,237,558.42. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Dominic Ng also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 12th, Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $3,408,900.00.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $122.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $123.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.42.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $754.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.14.

East West Bancorp News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting East West Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 (from $0.60), payable Feb. 17; annualized $3.20 and ~2.6–2.7% yield — a direct return to shareholders and signal of confidence in cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat expectations: $2.52 EPS vs. $2.48 expected and revenue of $754.9M vs. $745M consensus — improves near-term earnings credibility and supports valuation multiples.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive: multiple buy/overweight ratings and price-target increases (consensus target ~ $128) — supports upside narrative and may attract momentum buyers.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (~89.5%) and recent small fund flows show mixed adds and new positions — indicates largely stable long-term holder base but limited incremental catalyst from new institutional buying.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data appears effectively zero/immaterial in the latest snapshot — low short activity reduces risk of squeeze-driven volatility but also limits short-covering as a price tailwind.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Dominic Ng sold 50,000 shares (~$5.9M at ~$117.82) and other insiders (EVP Gary Teo, Director Jack Liu, Director Molly Campbell) also reduced holdings — large insider sales can be read by the market as liquidity-taking and may weigh on sentiment if not explained (e.g., diversification, tax planning). CEO Form 4 EVP Form 4 Director Form 4 Director Form 4

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $272,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.