Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 10,841 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 666,252 shares of the bank's stock after selling 10,841 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.95% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $28,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 345,597 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,114 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,599 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 194.1% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 63,487 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,023,000 after acquiring an additional 41,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 16,088 shares of the bank's stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. 75.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Up 3.0%

CATY stock traded up $1.30 during trading on Monday, hitting $44.54. The company had a trading volume of 399,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,319. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.66. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.06 and a 12 month high of $55.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is 34.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $32,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on CATY shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.