AlphaQuest LLC Sells 73,589 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 61.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,589 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $2,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 158.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $162,388.17. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,765. This represents a 23.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKU opened at $47.21 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.69. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. BankUnited, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $52.11.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $273.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.57 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on BankUnited from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research downgraded BankUnited from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on BankUnited from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.27.

BankUnited 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.