BankUnited, Inc. $BKU Holdings Boosted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in BankUnited, Inc. by 16.3%, now owning approximately 0.16% of the company valued at $4,156,000.
• BankUnited reported an EPS of $0.91 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.79, with a revenue of $273.93 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 36.36%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,889 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.16% of BankUnited worth $4,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 9.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in BankUnited by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in BankUnited by 165.5% during the 1st 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 period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in BankUnited by 3.9% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in BankUnited by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $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 Activity at BankUnited

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,080.33. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total transaction of $135,765.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,675,921.95. The trade was a 7.49% 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.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of BKU traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.20. The company had a trading volume of 581,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,731. 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's 50 day moving average price is $37.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.34. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.32.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $273.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.17 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 13.19%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BKU shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BankUnited from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" 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 stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.