California State Teachers Retirement System Has $17.48 Million Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its East West Bancorp stake by 25.7% in the first quarter, holding 163,760 shares valued at $17.48 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.53% of EWBC.
• East West Bancorp exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.63 in EPS and $791.14 million in revenue, with revenue up 12.5% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $140.23 average price target.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, equivalent to $3.20 annually and a 2.4% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 52,511 shares worth $6.56 million over the past three months.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,519 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.12% of East West Bancorp worth $17,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,280,926.62. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $6,558,721 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stephens increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.23.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $131.00 on Monday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.67 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The stock has a market cap of $17.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $129.01 and its 200-day moving average is $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $791.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.East West Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.

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