East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Purchased by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 236,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,011 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $26,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $274,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.6% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after buying an additional 920,159 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 72.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,238,000 after buying an additional 13,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 15.7% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total value of $221,058.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 60,221 shares of company stock valued at $7,139,287 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on EWBC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $125.00 price target on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial set a $121.00 price objective on East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.21.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.9%

EWBC stock opened at $106.77 on Thursday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $123.82. The firm has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $112.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.46. 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 (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.The company had revenue of $753.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 33.61%.

East West Bancorp 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.