Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 9,746 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 259,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,746 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $24,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted 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 purchasing an additional 632,245 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased 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 worth $228,269,000 after purchasing an additional 447,057 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $32,138,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 171.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,847,000 after buying an additional 242,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $423,148,000 after buying an additional 186,887 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on EWBC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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 cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $90.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. 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 $96.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,362 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,022 in the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.