Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Invests $5.66 Million in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 174,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,657,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.23% of BankUnited at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKU. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 83.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in BankUnited by 347.0% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in BankUnited by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in BankUnited in the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of BankUnited by 102.6% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 2,941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Performance

NYSE BKU opened at $26.73 on Friday. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.83 and a 1 year high of $34.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.99.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 8.71%. The company had revenue of $508.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total transaction of $62,106.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,365. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of BankUnited from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on BankUnited in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on BankUnited from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

About BankUnited

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.