GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 3,430.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 173,681 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.24% of BankUnited worth $6,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in BankUnited by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 250,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,550,000 after buying an additional 20,558 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 209,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,978,000 after buying an additional 15,057 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 362,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,836,000 after buying an additional 10,064 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at $1,291,000. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BankUnited from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on BankUnited from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut BankUnited from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on BankUnited from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.42.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 567,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 793,165. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.88 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 1.30. The company's fifty day moving average is $33.50 and its 200-day moving average is $36.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $255.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.35 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Leslie Lunak sold 22,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total value of $764,362.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 59,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,010,210.44. This trade represents a 27.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.43, for a total transaction of $34,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,785.88. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

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.