Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 104,982,026 UBS Group AG $UBS

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in UBS Group, buying 104,982,026 shares valued at about $4.89 billion. The position represented roughly 3.36% of UBS and became Norges Bank’s 25th largest holding.
• UBS shares were up 0.6% to $47.10, near their 52-week high of $49.36. The stock has also risen after recent earnings, which beat analyst expectations with $0.94 EPS on $13.64 billion in revenue.
• Wall Street’s view remains mixed: UBS has a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average target price of $60.30. Analysts currently include five Buy ratings, five Hold ratings, and one Sell rating.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 104,982,026 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,889,413,000. UBS Group comprises about 0.5% of Norges Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Norges Bank owned approximately 3.36% of UBS Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,742,259 shares of the bank's stock valued at $112,048,000 after purchasing an additional 97,509 shares during the last quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 1,198.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH now owns 258,115 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,559,000 after purchasing an additional 238,235 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,439,632 shares of the bank's stock valued at $181,409,000 after purchasing an additional 265,475 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 120,920 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,905,000 after purchasing an additional 36,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 254.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 63,671,310 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,601,589,000 after buying an additional 45,731,061 shares in the last quarter.

UBS Group Stock Up 0.6%

UBS opened at $47.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 0.85. UBS Group AG has a fifty-two week low of $30.36 and a fifty-two week high of $49.36. The company has a market capitalization of $147.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.66 and a 200-day moving average of $42.79.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. UBS Group had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 12.66%.The company had revenue of $13.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.16 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that UBS Group AG will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UBS shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays raised UBS Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.30.

Key Headlines Impacting UBS Group

Here are the key news stories impacting UBS Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS continues to attract attention after its latest earnings report, with the stock already up since then and investors now watching to see if the recent momentum can continue. Strong prior quarter results may be helping support sentiment. UBS (UBS) Up 6.7% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: UBS announced leadership appointments in its Southeast U.S. wealth management region, a move that could help expand its presence in fast-growing wealth centers and support longer-term asset gathering. UBS Announces Leadership Appointments in the Southeast US Region
• Positive Sentiment: UBS remains active in central bank and tokenized-payments work through the BIS Project Agorá testing, which may reinforce its position in digital finance and transaction infrastructure. BIS Tests Tokenized Bank Payments With Visa, JPMorgan, UBS and Deutsche Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS-related commentary on family office clients reducing U.S. exposure may reflect portfolio reallocation trends, but it is not clearly a direct operating negative for the bank. UBS Family Office Clients Cut US Exposure in Wealth Revamp
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS also had multiple stock-rating notes on other companies it covers, but those research updates do not appear to materially change UBS Group’s own fundamentals today. Michael Lasser Reiterates Buy on Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Negative Sentiment: News that UBS family office clients are quietly pulling money out of the U.S. could raise concerns about asset flows and near-term wealth management demand. UBS family office clients are quietly pulling money out of the US

About UBS Group

UBS Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services firm that provides a broad range of banking and capital markets services to private, institutional and corporate clients. Headquartered in Zurich, UBS operates as a universal bank with a primary focus on wealth management, asset management, investment banking and retail and commercial banking in Switzerland. The firm serves high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, pension funds, corporations and institutional investors through a global network of offices.

Key business activities include global wealth management—offering financial planning, investment advisory, discretionary portfolio management and custody services—alongside asset management products for institutional and retail investors.

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