SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 22,981 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 462.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,981 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $1,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $443,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 211.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 40,461 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in BankUnited in the 3rd quarter worth $347,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in BankUnited by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Finally, LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter valued at about $557,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.40.

BankUnited Stock Performance

NYSE:BKU opened at $40.87 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.81. BankUnited, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. This represents a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.