Marshall Wace LLP Invests $1.59 Million in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 33,342 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.60.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 2.1 %

Cathay General Bancorp stock traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 273,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,216. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $42.06 and its 200 day moving average is $46.21. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $34.75 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 20.57%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.34%.

About Cathay General Bancorp

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.