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

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,292,815 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,709 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $62,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $36,348,000. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,077,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 325.6% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 202,577 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,223,000 after buying an additional 154,974 shares in the last quarter. HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $3,987,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $3,175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company’s stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of CATY stock opened at $50.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.86. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $54.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.38.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $222.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.76 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a 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 report on Sunday, November 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.