East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Holdings Raised by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 755,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,528 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $72,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EWBC. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 39.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,882,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,223,000 after purchasing an additional 136,528 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,734,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,608,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,438,000 after purchasing an additional 122,738 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of EWBC opened at $94.43 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $98.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. This is a boost from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens cut shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.