BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 352,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,319 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $12,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the second quarter valued at $799,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the 3rd quarter valued at about $443,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 2nd quarter valued at about $515,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 211.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 40,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 7.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on BKU shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.36.

BankUnited Trading Down 1.0 %

BKU opened at $38.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.34 and a 52 week high of $44.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.36.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $515.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.65 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. This trade represents a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total value of $421,527.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

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.