New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,876 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $6,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 38,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in East West Bancorp by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $133,275.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EWBC shares. Stephens cut shares of East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered East West Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.38.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on East West Bancorp
East West Bancorp Trading Up 0.9 %
EWBC stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $94.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,520,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,725. The company has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $98.29 and a 200 day moving average of $94.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.78 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92.
East West Bancorp Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.
East West Bancorp Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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