South Dakota Investment Council Grows Stock Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.06% of East West Bancorp worth $9,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 145.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 163,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,381,000 after buying an additional 96,760 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in East West Bancorp by 3,842.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 14,411 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 156.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 37,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,035,000 after acquiring an additional 23,125 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in East West Bancorp by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,505,000 after acquiring an additional 4,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in East West Bancorp by 2,084.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 53,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,665,000 after acquiring an additional 50,785 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:EWBC opened at $110.50 on Wednesday. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $68.27 and a one year high of $123.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $115.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.34.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $753.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.04 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 28.36%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on East West Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on East West Bancorp from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research cut East West Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,421 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.00, for a total value of $169,099.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,807. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Molly Campbell sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.81, for a total transaction of $221,058.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $706,894.36. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 119,065 shares of company stock valued at $13,857,314 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.