Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Makes New Investment in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BKU. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 270.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth about $113,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings 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 worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $32.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $44.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.40.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Compass Point raised their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

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.