Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, owning 115,382 shares worth approximately $3.97 million.
• BankUnited reported $0.91 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.12, and had a revenue of $273.93 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 36.36%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 27.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 44,395 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.15% of BankUnited worth $3,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in BankUnited by 14,050.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 849 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.2%

BKU stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.68. The company had a trading volume of 210,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 807,172. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 1.29. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.21 and a fifty-two week high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $273.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.17 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (up from $41.00) on shares of BankUnited in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,080.33. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

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.