KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $580,000 Position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 9.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in BankUnited by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in BankUnited by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 147,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.07 per share, for a total transaction of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,782 shares in the company, valued at $666,478.74. This trade represents a 10.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,955. The trade was a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Performance

BKU stock opened at $34.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.40. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.99.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 40.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BKU shares. Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Compass Point lifted their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.45.

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.