Strs Ohio Buys 107,000 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 412,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 107,000 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.29% of East West Bancorp worth $29,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.0% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 31,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 48,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,560,000 after buying an additional 23,361 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,243,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $803,502,000 after acquiring an additional 215,281 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 12.2% in the third quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 279,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,715,000 after acquiring an additional 30,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 8.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 676,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,664,000 after acquiring an additional 50,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.15.

East West Bancorp Stock Down 1.4 %

East West Bancorp stock traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 782,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,009. The firm's 50 day moving average is $74.24 and its 200 day moving average is $67.49. The company has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.12 and a 52-week high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 29.11%. The company had revenue of $654.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.91 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This is an increase from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.89%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $125,547.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $797,400.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total value of $147,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.91% 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.