77,352 Shares in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 77,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,448,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in BankUnited by 23.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BKU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on BankUnited from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised BankUnited from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total value of $174,703.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 35,687 shares in the company, valued at $1,778,283.21. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $162,388.17. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,765. This represents a 23.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,953 shares of company stock valued at $591,492 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.5%

BKU stock opened at $45.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.26. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.21 and a 52 week high of $52.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.82 and a 200 day moving average of $43.59.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $260.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $279.76 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 9.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 35.03%.

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.