California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,365 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.19% of East West Bancorp worth $19,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 926,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,641,000 after purchasing an additional 88,224 shares during the last quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC now owns 75,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,406,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 9,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 2,629 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $473,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 47,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 15,118 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $76.45. 817,324 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,206,362. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.12 and a twelve month high of $79.54. The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.80.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.77 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. East West Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 27.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $76.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Compass Point increased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,655.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value 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 $797,400.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Company 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.