Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 159,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,103 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.21% of BankUnited worth $6,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in BankUnited by 48.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 183,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,677,000 after purchasing an additional 59,644 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 56,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,097,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in BankUnited by 462.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 22,981 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in BankUnited by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE BKU traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.11. The company had a trading volume of 64,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 792,557. The firm's 50 day moving average is $33.25 and its 200 day moving average is $37.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.78 and a fifty-two week high of $44.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.29.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. The company had revenue of $255.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. BankUnited's payout ratio is 38.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BKU. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler raised shares of BankUnited from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BankUnited from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on BankUnited from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Leslie Lunak sold 22,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $764,362.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 59,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,010,210.44. The trade was a 27.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.