East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,064 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.05% of East West Bancorp worth $5,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp in the third quarter worth $4,157,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 159.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 18,166 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 830,133.3% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 24,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 24,904 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $852,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 7.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,804,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $149,287,000 after purchasing an additional 123,376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.5 %

EWBC traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.58. 759,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 918,771. The firm's fifty day moving average is $99.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.65. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. East West Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EWBC. Barclays lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Stephens lowered East West Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.17.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $45,980.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,500 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.65, for a total value of $147,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,639 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,537.35. This trade represents a 12.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276. Corporate 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.