VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 49,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,370,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in East West Bancorp by 12,510.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,651,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,665,877,000 after buying an additional 20,487,542 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $1,744,958,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 84,090.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,311,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,967,000 after acquiring an additional 5,305,257 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $199,529,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the second quarter worth $221,652,000. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.25 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $92.67 and a one year high of $137.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $131.38 and a 200 day moving average of $122.88. The company has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.East West Bancorp’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.00, for a total transaction of $1,446,219.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,093,742. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack Liu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.02, for a total value of $135,020.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,709 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,989.18. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,511 shares of company stock worth $3,077,741 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of East West Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $131.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.15.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.