This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In East West Bancorp

Some East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Vice Chairman & Chief Corporate Officer, Douglas Krause, recently sold a substantial US$759k worth of stock at a price of US$63.29 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 13%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for East West Bancorp

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At East West Bancorp

In fact, the recent sale by Douglas Krause was the biggest sale of East West Bancorp shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$65.68). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 13%of Douglas Krause's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$2.1m for 48.07k shares. But they sold 20.91k shares for US$1.3m. In total, East West Bancorp insiders bought more than they sold over 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. East West Bancorp insiders own about US$88m worth of shares. That equates to 1.0% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At East West Bancorp Tell Us?

Insiders sold East West Bancorp shares recently, but they didn't buy any. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. And insiders do own shares. So the recent selling doesn't worry us too much. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for East West Bancorp (1 is concerning) you should be aware of.

Of course East West Bancorp may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.