Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $3.81 Million Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC - Free Report) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,162 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 119.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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East West Bancorp Stock Performance

EWBC stock traded down $1.80 on Friday, reaching $89.07. 926,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 870,345. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.78 and a 12 month high of $113.95. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $95.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.24. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from East West Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. East West Bancorp's payout ratio is 28.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EWBC. Barclays cut their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,941,851.33. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.