Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Stake in Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,116,419 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 31,472 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.57% of Cathay General Bancorp worth $53,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Cathay General Bancorp by 299.6% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 21,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 16,119 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 457.4% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 20,428 shares of the bank's stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 16,763 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cathay General Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cathay General Bancorp by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 850 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,231,000. 75.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cathay General Bancorp Price Performance

CATY traded down $2.61 during trading on Thursday, reaching $37.54. 115,667 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,664. Cathay General Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.88 and a 1 year high of $55.29. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $44.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Cathay General Bancorp had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 10.70%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cathay General Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Cathay General Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Cathay General Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CATY has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Cathay General Bancorp from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cathay General Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.80.

Cathay General Bancorp Company 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.