Citigroup Inc. Sells 104,469 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Citigroup Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 116,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 104,469 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $4,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in BankUnited by 15.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,528,000 after buying an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,100,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in BankUnited by 227.3% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 16,246 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BKU opened at $47.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.79.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS 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 business had revenue of $260.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,778,283.21. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total transaction of $254,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,816 shares in the company, valued at $957,358.08. This represents a 20.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BKU. Barclays upped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on BankUnited from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 price objective on BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.