Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,000 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 38,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $338,142,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,460,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 112.5% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,441,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,013,000 after buying an additional 762,958 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in East West Bancorp by 82.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,687,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,502,000 after buying an additional 761,347 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in East West Bancorp by 152.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 374,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,404,000 after buying an additional 225,799 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,486,343.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $167,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,509.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa L. Kim sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total value of $472,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,486,343.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EWBC shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on East West Bancorp from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.46.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

East West Bancorp stock opened at $95.10 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.29. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.29 and a twelve month high of $98.95.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.80 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 24.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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.