East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Acquired by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 29.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 224,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 50,853 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.16% of East West Bancorp worth $21,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in East West Bancorp by 108.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 54,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,282,000 after acquiring an additional 28,549 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $4,157,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 24,904 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 159.1% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 18,166 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of EWBC traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.66. The stock had a trading volume of 572,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,243. 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 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The business's fifty day moving average is $99.56 and its 200 day moving average is $93.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.