New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in East West Bancorp by 6.8%, selling 11,263 shares to hold 153,200 shares valued at about $17.22 million (≈0.11% ownership).
• Several brokerages have raised price targets and kept buy/outperform ratings; MarketBeat shows an average rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $132.36.
• East West Bancorp beat quarterly estimates with $2.57 EPS and revenue up 11.8% year-over-year, and announced a $0.80 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.20, ~2.5% yield) with an ex-dividend date of May 4.

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,263 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.11% of East West Bancorp worth $17,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $26,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EWBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $133.00 price target on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $137.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.36.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $125.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.21 and a 52-week high of $127.52. The firm has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.97. The business's fifty day moving average is $112.48 and its 200 day moving average is $111.10.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.11. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The company had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $706,894.36. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 62,021 shares of company stock worth $7,365,277 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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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