Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 9,360 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 42.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,360 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on EWBC shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 11,211 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,093,742. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $1,235,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 46,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,289. The trade was a 17.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 54,311 shares of company stock valued at $6,784,711 in the last 90 days. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of EWBC stock opened at $134.52 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.67 and a 52-week high of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.89.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $773.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $767.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 29.59%.The business’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

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.