Trillium Asset Management LLC Trims Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Trillium Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 252,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,999 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned about 0.18% of East West Bancorp worth $24,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EWBC. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,174,000 after buying an additional 632,245 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,269,000 after purchasing an additional 447,057 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,138,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 171.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,847,000 after purchasing an additional 242,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $423,148,000 after purchasing an additional 186,887 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of EWBC stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,354,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 840,237. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.01. 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 $12.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at $87,148,260. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732 over the last quarter. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About East West Bancorp

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.