First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 28,585 Shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 242,471 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 28,585 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in UBS Group were worth $7,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UBS. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 68,105 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,065,000 after buying an additional 11,749 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UBS Group by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 8,624 shares of the bank's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,016,056 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,647,000 after purchasing an additional 93,931 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth $54,397,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UBS Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 40,505 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter.

UBS Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UBS traded up $0.58 on Friday, hitting $30.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,956,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,811. UBS Group AG has a one year low of $25.75 and a one year high of $35.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.09. UBS Group had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.19 billion. Research analysts predict that UBS Group AG will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This is a boost from UBS Group's previous annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on UBS. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded UBS Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America cut UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold".

UBS Group Company Profile

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions.