Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Lowers Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 815 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EWBC. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in East West Bancorp by 2.8% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 2,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 5.4% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $166,411.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,111.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,346 shares of company stock worth $1,108,160. Corporate insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EWBC. Wedbush lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.33.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of EWBC opened at $81.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.59 and a 1-year high of $89.75. The stock has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.29.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.10. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.40%. The business had revenue of $638.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $631.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

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.