New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 5,407 Shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,853 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,407 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.17% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $5,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,785 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 39,431 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 20,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,667,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3,878.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 87,050 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,746,000 after purchasing an additional 84,862 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions 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 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,000. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $47.54. 314,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,130. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.05 and a 200 day moving average of $44.43. Cathay General Bancorp has a 12 month low of $36.06 and a 12 month high of $55.29.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $187.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cathay General Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $53.00 price target on Cathay General Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.17.

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.