East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Bought by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 117%, acquiring 4,730 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 8,772 shares valued at approximately $787,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly boosted their positions in East West Bancorp, reflecting a growing interest among hedge funds in the company.
• East West Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.4%, set to be paid on August 15th to investors of record on August 4th.

Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 117.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,730 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 45,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,360,000 after purchasing an additional 13,251 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in East West Bancorp by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 398,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,132,000 after buying an additional 46,417 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 20,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,967,000 after buying an additional 2,579 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 43,291 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,146,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of EWBC stock traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.38. 376,547 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,040,774. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.27 and a fifty-two week high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $13.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $100.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.80.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.05. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The business had revenue of $705.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at East West Bancorp

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $199,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,411,248.96. This represents a 12.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 928,314 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,100 shares of company stock worth $8,191,984 over the last 90 days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.