East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,828 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.12% of East West Bancorp worth $16,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 126.8% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 470.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,235 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,270. This trade represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock valued at $7,379,678. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on EWBC shares. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.33.

East West Bancorp Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $95.98 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.26. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.27 and a 52-week high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.93.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 26.06%. On average, analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

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.