Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Position in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings cut its BankUnited stake by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 41,136 shares worth about $1.84 million.
• Insider selling continued, with director John N. Digiacomo and insider Jay D. Richards both reducing their holdings through stock sales in June.
• BankUnited shares were trading around $48.19 and the company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.83 per share, missing analyst estimates; it also declared a $0.33 quarterly dividend.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 38.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,522 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.06% of BankUnited worth $1,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,632,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,472,000 after purchasing an additional 36,097 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,792,000 after buying an additional 149,450 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 277.3% during the 4th quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 3,535,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $157,568,000 after buying an additional 2,598,382 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,155,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,654,000 after buying an additional 84,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,655,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total transaction of $45,970.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,791.19. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $194,680.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 40,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,971,232.34. This trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKU shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded BankUnited from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered shares of BankUnited from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BankUnited from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.73.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BKU traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.19. The stock had a trading volume of 428,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,543. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.17. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $52.11. The business's 50-day moving average price is $47.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.85.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $273.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.57 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 9.11%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. BankUnited's payout ratio is 36.77%.

BankUnited Profile

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank's lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.

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