Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,407 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 270.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $74,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in BankUnited by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,950,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:BKU opened at $32.98 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.35. BankUnited, Inc. has a one year low of $24.34 and a one year high of $44.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.86.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.66%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. The trade was a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BKU. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

BankUnited Company 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.