Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 666,252 shares of the bank's stock after selling 10,841 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.95% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $28,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $36,231,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 112.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 331,862 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,800,000 after acquiring an additional 175,737 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 339.6% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 143,727 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 111,034 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,861,501 shares of the bank's stock valued at $136,236,000 after acquiring an additional 102,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $4,587,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $32,805.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.85% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.24. 1,696,123 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 372,750. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cathay General Bancorp has a 52-week low of $35.97 and a 52-week high of $55.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $42.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.80.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CATY. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price objective on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens reaffirmed 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.