State of Michigan Retirement System Has $2.74 Million Stock Holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $2,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in East West Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $72.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.59 and a 52-week high of $79.54. The firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $73.94 and its 200 day moving average is $73.55.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.08. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 26.78%. The company had revenue of $644.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stephens upped 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. Compass Point upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on East West Bancorp from $94.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About East West Bancorp

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.