Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Stake in Cathay General Bancorp $CATY

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,022,315 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,394 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.48% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $49,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 5,438.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 319.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Cathay General Bancorp by 19.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $112,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cathay General Bancorp

In related news, CEO Chang Liu sold 5,165 shares of Cathay General Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.24, for a total value of $238,829.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,478 shares in the company, valued at $5,016,022.72. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Thomas M. Lo sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.83, for a total transaction of $46,830.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $140,490. The trade was a 25.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 38,755 shares of company stock valued at $1,820,148 in the last three months. 4.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cathay General Bancorp Stock Up 5.6%

Cathay General Bancorp stock opened at $52.44 on Thursday. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.06 and a 1-year high of $52.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.85.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $210.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.71 million. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 10.60%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Cathay General Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CATY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Cathay General Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.60.

About Cathay General Bancorp

Cathay General Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol CATY. Its principal subsidiary, Cathay Bank, provides a full suite of financial services to commercial, institutional and retail clients. As a community-focused institution, the company emphasizes relationship banking and tailored solutions for businesses and individuals.

Founded in 1962 by a group of Chinese American entrepreneurs, Cathay has expanded from a single branch operation in downtown Los Angeles into one of the largest Asian-American banks in the United States.