Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 755,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 68,528 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.55% of East West Bancorp worth $72,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% in the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on EWBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.38.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $94.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.33. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.78 and a 12 month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

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.