KBC Group NV Acquires 1,883 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 87.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new position in BankUnited in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $443,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 211.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 40,461 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in BankUnited during the third quarter valued at $347,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in BankUnited by 462.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 22,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in BankUnited by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,410.66. This represents a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Up 1.0 %

BKU stock opened at $41.20 on Friday. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $44.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.73 and its 200 day moving average is $38.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 37.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Compass Point upped their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

BankUnited Profile

BankUnited, Inc operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, a national banking association that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, and savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and treasury, commercial payment, and cash management services.