Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 2,413 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 226,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,413 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned 0.16% of East West Bancorp worth $20,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 89.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total value of $3,857,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 928,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,919 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,494 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.5%

EWBC opened at $93.80 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $86.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.02 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.71% and a net margin of 25.73%. As a group, research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Morgan Stanley lowered East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.85.

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.