Fisher Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 623,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,703 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.83% of BankUnited worth $27,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in BankUnited by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in BankUnited by 23.5% during 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. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in BankUnited by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in BankUnited by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in BankUnited by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 17,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total transaction of $162,388.17. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,765. This trade represents a 23.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BankUnited from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of BankUnited from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.27.

BankUnited Stock Up 2.1%

BKU stock opened at $47.21 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.19. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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

BankUnited Increases Dividend

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

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.