Yahoo Finance East West Bancorp Insiders Placed Bullish Bets Worth US$1.64m
Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
View our latest analysis for East West Bancorp
East West Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Vice Chairman & Chief Corporate Officer, Douglas Krause, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$759k worth of shares at a price of US$63.29 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$72.76. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 13% of Douglas Krause's holding.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.6m for 38.07k shares. On the other hand they divested 23.54k shares, for US$1.5m. Overall, East West Bancorp insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
East West Bancorp is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
East West Bancorp Insiders Are Selling The Stock
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of East West Bancorp shares. In total, insiders sold US$273k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.
Insider Ownership Of East West Bancorp
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. East West Bancorp insiders own 1.0% of the company, currently worth about US$101m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
So What Do The East West Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?
Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. On top of that, insiders own a significant portion of the company. So we're not too bothered by recent selling. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
