Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,471,066 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 72,532 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.07% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $70,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 189.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Cathay General Bancorp by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,730 shares of the bank's stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 1,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Cathay General Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $239,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Cathay General Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.80.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

Cathay General Bancorp stock traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.63. 225,174 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 335,975. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1-year low of $33.88 and a 1-year high of $55.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $45.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 20.57%. As a group, analysts forecast that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Cathay General Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.34%.

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.