Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Decreases Stock Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Key Points

• Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP reduced its stake in BankUnited, Inc. by 60.8%, selling 10,048 shares, and now holds 6,476 shares valued at approximately $223,000.
• Wellington Management Group LLP significantly increased its holdings in BankUnited by 893.2%, acquiring over 1 million additional shares, illustrating considerable institutional investor interest in the company.
• BankUnited recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 36.36% reflecting a stable return for investors.

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP cut its holdings in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 60.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,048 shares during the quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP's holdings in BankUnited were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in BankUnited by 14,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 849 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 165.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 697.4% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total value of $135,765.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,675,921.95. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total value of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,521,080.33. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.7%

BankUnited stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $38.92. The stock had a trading volume of 96,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 811,306. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.35. BankUnited, Inc. has a one year low of $28.21 and a one year high of $44.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $273.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $267.17 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. BankUnited's payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BKU shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.55.

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.