Squarepoint Ops LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 60.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,524 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in BankUnited were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in BankUnited by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in BankUnited by 270.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in BankUnited by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:BKU traded up $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.35. 646,668 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 800,058. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $33.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.78 and a 12-month high of $44.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.29.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $255.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.35 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on BKU shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler raised shares of BankUnited from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BankUnited from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BankUnited has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.42.

Insider Activity

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. This represents a 20.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti purchased 2,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,478.74. This represents a 10.65% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,010 shares of company stock worth $912,565. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

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.