Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 658,197 shares of the bank's stock after selling 30,238 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.94% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $28,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.20. 434,555 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,845. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.93. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $36.06 and a 52-week high of $55.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.47.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.17 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 20.55%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 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.