Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 76.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 331,923 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of East West Bancorp worth $9,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of 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 trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 60,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,416,694 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC traded up $1.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $86.93. 185,130 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 924,610. The company has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.79. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.27 and a 12-month high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $118.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.46.

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.