Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $31.59 Million Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,365 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $31,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 362.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on East West Bancorp from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.17.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $101.58 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.45. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.27 and a 1-year high of $113.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.28.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 16.07%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total transaction of $1,279,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,413.83. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rudolph Estrada sold 469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $45,980.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,740,210. This trade represents a 2.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,969 shares of company stock valued at $2,458,276 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

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.