25,148 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,539,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 1.9% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 25.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 5,654 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 35.9% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $4,317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 16.5% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EWBC. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $139.00 target price for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.33.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $98.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.62. The firm has a market cap of $13.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $627.36 million during the quarter. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. On average, research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Gary Teo sold 6,550 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,660.45. This trade represents a 34.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,572,270. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,240 shares of company stock worth $7,379,678 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.