Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 369,946 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 96.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,818 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 369,946 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 345,597 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,454,000 after buying an additional 5,114 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 194.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 63,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,023,000 after acquiring an additional 41,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 16,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CATY opened at $42.96 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $35.94 and a 1 year high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 20.55%. The company had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.34%.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CATY shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Cathay General Bancorp Profile

Cathay General Bancorp operates as the holding company for Cathay Bank that offers various commercial banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, including passbook accounts, checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and public funds deposits.