Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 1,667.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 670,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,174,000 after purchasing an additional 632,245 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,383,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,269,000 after buying an additional 447,057 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $32,138,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp by 171.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,847,000 after acquiring an additional 242,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in East West Bancorp by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,418,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,148,000 after acquiring an additional 186,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total value of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. This represents a 4.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 19,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,783,710.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 968,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,148,260. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,181 shares of company stock valued at $5,625,732. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on East West Bancorp from $127.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

EWBC opened at $93.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $96.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.19. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $113.95.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

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.