ProShare Advisors LLC Has $1 Million Stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 44.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,010 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 6,436 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Cathay General Bancorp were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,635 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 118.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 90,721 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,319,000 after purchasing an additional 49,129 shares during the last quarter. Dean Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 45,330 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 12,884 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,770 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $265,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,000. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.76% of the company's stock.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:CATY traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.61. 37,287 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 358,459. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.81. Cathay General Bancorp has a one year low of $34.75 and a one year high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.17 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 20.57%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CATY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.