Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $705,000 Position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

East West Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ EWBC opened at $93.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap 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. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $113.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.19.

East West Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from East West Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. East West Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EWBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of East West Bancorp from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point boosted their target price on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, East West Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.31.

Insider Activity at East West Bancorp

In related news, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,643.21. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % 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 worth $5,625,732. 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.