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 grew its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 117.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,971.4% in the 1st quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 448.9% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 89.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, DA Davidson increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.26. 867,111 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 987,818. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.76. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $705.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $199,584.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,248.96. This trade represents a 12.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 40,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.43, for a total transaction of $3,857,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 928,314 shares in the company, valued at $89,517,319.02. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,100 shares of company stock worth $8,191,984 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

About East West Bancorp

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.