Vanguard Group Inc. Has $350.57 Million Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,186,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 261,294 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of BankUnited worth $350,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strs Ohio bought a new position in BankUnited during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 202.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in BankUnited by 7,588.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in BankUnited by 4,293.5% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BKU shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna upgraded shares of BankUnited to a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on BankUnited from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.45.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock opened at $49.52 on Friday. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.21 and a 1 year high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.48.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total transaction of $254,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,816 shares in the company, valued at $957,358.08. This trade represents a 20.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,778,283.21. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

About BankUnited

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.