Fisher Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 636,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,147 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $24,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in BankUnited by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,100,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its stake in BankUnited by 25.0% in the second quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 105,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total transaction of $174,703.98. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,778,283.21. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $957,358.08. The trade was a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BKU opened at $47.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.76. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.29. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.21 and a 52-week high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $260.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on BKU shares. Hovde Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on BankUnited from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.55.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.