Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $36.74 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $36,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% in the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth $28,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in East West Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,302,660.45. This represents a 34.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,270. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,240 shares of company stock valued at $3,244,478 in the last three months. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $101.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.94 and a 200-day moving average of $99.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.27 and a 52 week high of $113.95.

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. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 27.16%.The business had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.08.

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.