East West Bancorp, Inc. (EWBC) Stake Increased by State of Wisconsin Investment Board

State of Wisconsin Investment Board boosted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 368,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,434 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board owned about 0.26% of East West Bancorp worth $21,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EWBC. Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 0.6% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 14,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 1.3% in the second quarter. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 10,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. World Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 2.1% in the first quarter. World Asset Management Inc now owns 8,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in East West Bancorp by 3.8% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 9,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 92.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ EWBC) opened at 54.52 on Friday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $34.08 and a one year high of $60.42. The firm has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.48 and a 200-day moving average of $55.07.

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81. East West Bancorp had a net margin of 34.63% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $337.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post $3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.92%.

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Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. Piper Jaffray Companies set a $68.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 17th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.88.

In other East West Bancorp news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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