UBS Group AG Increases Stock Position in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

UBS Group AG boosted its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 398.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,170,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 935,370 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $52,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKU. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the third quarter valued at $698,000. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the third quarter valued at $35,752,000. TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the third quarter valued at $6,334,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the third quarter valued at $7,599,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in BankUnited by 11.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 334,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,767,000 after purchasing an additional 34,952 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BankUnited from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on BankUnited from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.27.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $162,388.17. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,765. This represents a 23.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total value of $254,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,358.08. The trade was a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Performance

NYSE:BKU opened at $47.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.89 and its 200 day moving average is $44.86. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.97 and a fifty-two week high of $52.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). BankUnited had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $273.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.77%.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank’s lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.