Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Acquires 50,853 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,853 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned 0.16% of East West Bancorp worth $21,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,223,000 after acquiring an additional 136,528 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,314,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,763,000 after purchasing an additional 75,024 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,231,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,152,000 after purchasing an additional 96,729 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122,738 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $100.23 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.12 and a 200 day moving average of $92.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.21 and a 52 week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,840,413.83. This represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,488,358 over the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Compass Point increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wedbush upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.