Inceptionr LLC Boosts Stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Inceptionr LLC raised its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 58.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,997 shares during the quarter. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in BankUnited by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in BankUnited by 270.6% in 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 in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth about $113,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in BankUnited by 87.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in BankUnited by 9.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of BKU opened at $32.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.40. BankUnited, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $44.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.34.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

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.