Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,950 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.29% of East West Bancorp worth $37,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 520,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,079,000 after purchasing an additional 148,530 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $652,223,000 after purchasing an additional 136,528 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,734,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $149,287,000 after buying an additional 123,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% during 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 buying an additional 122,738 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently issued reports on EWBC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group began 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 on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.38.
View Our Latest Report on East West Bancorp
East West Bancorp Stock Down 3.3 %
NASDAQ:EWBC traded down $3.23 on Friday, hitting $93.89. The stock had a trading volume of 717,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 864,196. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $98.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.54. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.78 and a 1 year high of $113.95.
East West Bancorp Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 28.81%.
About East West Bancorp
(
Free Report)
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.
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