BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Stock Holdings Lessened by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 68.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,723 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in BankUnited were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,696,000 after buying an additional 322,368 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in BankUnited by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 362,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 10,064 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter valued at about $766,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,598,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,392,000 after purchasing an additional 181,493 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti acquired 2,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $666,478.74. This trade represents a 10.65% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Leslie Lunak sold 22,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $764,362.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 59,899 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,210.44. This trade represents a 27.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Stock Up 1.1%

BKU stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.92. 281,244 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 795,505. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.07. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.78 and a 12-month high of $44.45.

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

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKU has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of BankUnited from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded BankUnited from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on BankUnited from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hovde Group decreased their target price on BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.42.

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.