Cathay General Bancorp $CATY Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,292,815 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,709 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.90% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $62,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,761 shares of the bank’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 3,030 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 20.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 6,740 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 1.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,395 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 183,090 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,878,000 after buying an additional 8,914 shares during the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CATY shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.50.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Down 0.0%

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $50.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.03. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $36.06 and a one year high of $54.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.86.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.13. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 22.76%.The business had revenue of $222.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Cathay General Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Cathay General Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 33.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.23, for a total transaction of $50,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,460. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Profile

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.