New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,435 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $6,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 65.1% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $159,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $76.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.12 and a 52-week high of $79.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.23 and a 200 day moving average of $69.41.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $644.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.08.

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.