Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 2,413 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,413 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $20,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,174,000 after purchasing an additional 632,245 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $1,072,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 755,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,352,000 after acquiring an additional 68,528 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $100,000. Finally, Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $1,015,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.85.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 928,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,919 shares of company stock worth $5,840,494 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $93.80 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. The company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. On average, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.64%.

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.