Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 12,742 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,742 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,683,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968,716 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in East West Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $174,431,000. Boston Partners increased its position in East West Bancorp by 39.6% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,241,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,271,000 after buying an additional 920,159 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 448.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 840,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,861,000 after buying an additional 687,145 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,207,000 after buying an additional 542,149 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total transaction of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,807. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Irene H. Oh sold 7,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.90, for a total transaction of $848,896.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,762,824.60. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 120,585 shares of company stock worth $14,016,504. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EWBC. Stephens increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.14.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $117.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.51 and a 200 day moving average of $108.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.92. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.27 and a 12 month high of $123.82.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $754.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 28.36% and a return on equity of 15.72%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

About East West Bancorp

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.