East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Position Raised by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $3,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Washington Trust Bank increased its position in East West Bancorp by 3.7% in the first quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $177,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 17.4% in the first quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 4,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.61% of the company’s stock.

Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (EWBC) opened at 57.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.02 and a 1-year high of $60.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.42.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81. The firm had revenue of $337.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.32 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 34.63%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post $3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 28th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

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Several equities research analysts have commented on EWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded East West Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Piper Jaffray Companies reduced their target price on East West Bancorp to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Barclays PLC reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on East West Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.63.

In other news, Director Molly Campbell sold 590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.93, for a total value of $32,998.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,294.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.00, for a total value of $66,257.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,396,471. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

About East West Bancorp

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company. The Company’s principal business is to serve as a holding company for East West Bank (the Bank) and other banking or banking-related subsidiaries. The Bank is a California state-chartered bank, which operates in the United States and Greater China. The Bank provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses, business executives, professionals, and other individuals.

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