Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Shares Sold by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 683,083 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,202 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.98% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $29,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 2.7% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 147,618 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,352,000 after purchasing an additional 3,891 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.4% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 194,276 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,360,000 after buying an additional 2,625 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 9.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 61,475 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,645,000 after buying an additional 5,343 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $2,048,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock traded down $1.23 on Thursday, reaching $47.30. The company had a trading volume of 248,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,458. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $45.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.10. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 21.44% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $196.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CATY has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson set a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.86.

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.