East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC Shares Acquired by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 17.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 87,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $9,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EWBC. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 145.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 163,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,381,000 after buying an additional 96,760 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 14,411 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 156.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 37,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,035,000 after purchasing an additional 23,125 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 2,084.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,665,000 after purchasing an additional 50,785 shares during the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock opened at $110.50 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.27 and a 1 year high of $123.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 33.61%.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, EVP Gary Teo sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.59, for a total value of $858,130.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,252 shares in the company, valued at $643,842.68. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Parker Shi sold 8,844 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.03, for a total value of $1,017,325.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719,698.50. This trade represents a 37.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EWBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.21.

East West Bancorp 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.