Zhang Financial LLC Trims Holdings in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Zhang Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,082 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 930 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in UBS Group were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 61.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of UBS Group by 118.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000.

UBS Group Trading Down 0.2 %

UBS stock opened at $28.07 on Friday. UBS Group AG has a fifty-two week low of $18.71 and a fifty-two week high of $32.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The bank reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.18). UBS Group had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 43.70%. The firm had revenue of $10.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that UBS Group AG will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. This is an increase from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a dividend yield of 0.82%. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio is 2.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on UBS. Societe Generale raised UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised UBS Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UBS Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UBS Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

UBS Group Profile

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions.