42,133 Shares in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 42,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,439,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $274,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $290,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 118.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 19,178 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.19, for a total transaction of $106,552.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 84,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,280,926.62. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.37, for a total transaction of $1,323,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,894,248.38. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,511 shares of company stock valued at $3,077,741 in the last ninety days. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on EWBC. Wall Street Zen raised East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Stephens upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.92.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $128.97 on Thursday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.67 and a 12-month high of $137.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.57.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The business had revenue of $789.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given 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 was Monday, August 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

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.