Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $100.24 Million Stake in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in BankUnited by 10.9%, selling 354,557 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total ownership to 2,910,556 shares worth approximately $100.24 million.
• In contrast, Wellington Management Group LLP dramatically increased its holdings in BankUnited by 893.2%, acquiring over 1 million additional shares during the same period.
• BankUnited recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.79, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,910,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 354,557 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 3.87% of BankUnited worth $100,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 9.8% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 14,050.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 165.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,620,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 8.7% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total transaction of $135,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,675,921.95. This represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,080.33. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BKU. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price (up previously from $41.00) on shares of BankUnited in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price target on BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BankUnited from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.75.

BankUnited Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of BKU traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.29. The stock had a trading volume of 806,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 533,838. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.78 and a 200 day moving average of $35.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.29. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.21 and a 52 week high of $44.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.12. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 13.19%.The company had revenue of $273.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio is 36.36%.

BankUnited Company 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.