Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 96,348 Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 96,348 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,587,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.14% of Cathay General Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,230,722 shares of the bank's stock valued at $201,426,000 after buying an additional 12,684 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,861,501 shares of the bank's stock worth $136,236,000 after acquiring an additional 102,724 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,519,442 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,341,000 after acquiring an additional 85,963 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,471,066 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,037,000 after acquiring an additional 72,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,268,030 shares of the bank's stock valued at $60,371,000 after acquiring an additional 6,081 shares during the period. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cathay General Bancorp

In other Cathay General Bancorp news, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,000. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of CATY traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $43.25. 270,140 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 358,045. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.52. 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 results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in 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 research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.