Strs Ohio Purchases Shares of 257,000 East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 257,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 2.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 62,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 503,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,189,000 after acquiring an additional 16,620 shares during the period. Legacy Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $628,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $806,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total value of $697,378.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,302,660.45. This represents a 34.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.38, for a total transaction of $4,135,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 888,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,833,901.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

EWBC opened at $109.38 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.27 and a twelve month high of $113.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.63. The company has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.97.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. East West Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.64.

East West Bancorp 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.