Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 26,180 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,090,239 shares of the bank's stock after selling 26,180 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.56% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $46,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 354,457 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,860 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 11.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,473,000 after buying an additional 5,785 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 14,674 shares of the bank's stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 3,490 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 44,179 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,103,000 after buying an additional 9,403 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price objective on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the 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 directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,000. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Trading Down 1.1%

CATY stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.20. The company had a trading volume of 434,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,516. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.97 and a 200-day moving average of $44.48. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $36.06 and a one year high of $55.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.93. 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 (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 20.55%. The business had revenue of $187.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 34.34%.

Cathay General Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Company 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.