Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 2,200 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 10,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in East West Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $968,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,462,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,145,000 after purchasing an additional 72,746 shares during the period. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 42,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 4,786 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 223.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 23,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 16,395 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC stock opened at $71.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.18 and its 200-day moving average is $73.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.65 and a 1 year high of $79.54.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is 27.71%.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 127,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other East West Bancorp news, insider Irene H. Oh sold 10,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.58, for a total transaction of $775,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 127,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,867,632.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas Paul Krause sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.76, for a total transaction of $590,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,234,045.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on East West Bancorp from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.08.

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.