Vestcor Inc Lowers Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Vestcor Inc lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 64.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,341 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 632,245 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,138,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,847,000 after purchasing an additional 242,928 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $423,148,000 after buying an additional 186,887 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 39.9% during 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 buying an additional 148,530 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $89.99. 4,331,082 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 845,070. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.78 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 968,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EWBC. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised East West Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on 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 started coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.31.

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.