Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 14,484 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC has increased its stake in BankUnited, Inc. by 45.5% in Q1, now owning 46,351 shares valued at $1.58 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Wellington Management Group and Quantbot Technologies, have significantly boosted their holdings, with Wellington increasing its position by 893.2%.
• BankUnited's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.91, exceeding estimates, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 45.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,484 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.06% of BankUnited worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in BankUnited by 14,050.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in BankUnited by 697.4% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total value of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,193 shares in the company, valued at $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 Trading Up 0.1%

BKU traded up $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.80. The company had a trading volume of 505,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,019. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $37.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.30. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.21 and a 12-month high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $273.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business earned $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders 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 36.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BKU. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.55.

About BankUnited

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.