Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 53,905 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in BankUnited, Inc. by 3.8%, purchasing an additional 53,905 shares during the first quarter and holding approximately 1.94% of the company’s shares valued at $50.3 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their holdings in BankUnited, including Wellington Management Group, which increased its stake by 893.2%, acquiring over 1 million shares.
• BankUnited recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.2%, and had reported earnings of $0.91 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,461,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 53,905 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.94% of BankUnited worth $50,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 893.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,150,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,002 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,525,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,499,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the first quarter worth approximately $26,299,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in BankUnited during the first quarter valued at approximately $16,338,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Hovde Group raised their target price on BankUnited from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.55.

BankUnited Price Performance

NYSE:BKU opened at $39.26 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $37.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.35. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.21 and a 52 week high of $44.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.12. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm had revenue of $273.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.36%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the firm'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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of BankUnited 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,675,921.95. This represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

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.

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