AQR Capital Management LLC Has $8.35 Million Stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 60.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 82,154 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.29% of BankUnited worth $8,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in BankUnited by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in BankUnited by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 270.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth about $113,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of BKU traded up $2.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $36.04. 403,350 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 786,886. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.85 and a 200 day moving average of $37.14. BankUnited, Inc. has a one year low of $26.78 and a one year high of $44.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.29.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $255.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $264.35 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. BankUnited's payout ratio is 38.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BKU. Piper Sandler raised BankUnited from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BankUnited from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BankUnited currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.55.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other news, CFO Leslie Lunak sold 22,776 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $764,362.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 59,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,010,210.44. This represents a 27.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. This represents a 20.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BankUnited Profile

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.