ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Takes $24.02 Million Position in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 790,776 shares of UBS Group AG, valued at approximately $24 million, marking a substantial investment in the bank during the first quarter.
• UBS Group reported $0.72 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.70, with revenues significantly higher than expected at $11.55 billion.
• Analyst ratings for UBS Group are mixed, with current consensus averaging a "Hold" rating, while some analysts have issued upgrades and downgrades in recent reports.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 790,776 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $24,015,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UBS Group by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 37,654,399 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,153,354,000 after purchasing an additional 17,676,829 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in UBS Group by 162.6% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 28,307,335 shares of the bank's stock worth $858,359,000 after purchasing an additional 17,525,749 shares in the last quarter. SIH Partners LLLP acquired a new position in UBS Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,546,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of UBS Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,885,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of UBS Group by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 55,586,232 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,688,163,000 after buying an additional 4,207,140 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UBS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded UBS Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America raised UBS Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UBS Group presently has an average rating of "Hold".

UBS Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE UBS traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.54. 1,744,669 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,034,843. UBS Group AG has a 1-year low of $25.75 and a 1-year high of $39.71. The stock has a market cap of $126.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.89.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The bank reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. UBS Group had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $11.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UBS Group AG will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Profile

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions.