Millennium Management LLC Sells 968,996 Shares of 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 lowered its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 38.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,577,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 968,996 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 2.10% of BankUnited worth $54,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 14,050.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of BankUnited by 165.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in BankUnited by 697.4% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in BankUnited by 9,157.5% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.1%

BKU traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.33. 932,303 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 547,583. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $37.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.21 and a fifty-two week high of $44.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.29.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BankUnited from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on BankUnited from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BankUnited news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total value of $135,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,675,921.95. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $152,989.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 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.