Millennium Management LLC Has $54.33 Million Stake in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC reduced its stake in BankUnited, Inc. by 38.1%, selling 968,996 shares and now owning about 2.10% of the company, valued at $54.3 million.
• BankUnited recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.2%, and a payout ratio of 36.36%.
• Analysts have raised price targets for BankUnited, with Hovde Group and Wells Fargo & Company increasing their estimates to $44.00 and $45.00 respectively, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Millennium Management LLC trimmed its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 38.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,577,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 968,996 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 2.10% of BankUnited worth $54,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in BankUnited by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in BankUnited by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 372,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,820,000 after acquiring an additional 9,750 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the 1st quarter worth about $585,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the 1st quarter worth about $1,398,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in BankUnited by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,059,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,496,000 after acquiring an additional 285,092 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on BKU shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded BankUnited from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.75.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of BKU traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.33. The stock had a trading volume of 932,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 524,425. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.29. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.21 and a 1-year high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.12. The company 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 last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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%.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total transaction of $135,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,675,921.95. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of BankUnited 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 transaction, the insider owned 39,193 shares of the company's stock, 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. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BankUnited Company 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.