Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 2,608 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,608 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $2,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in BankUnited by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 270.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth $113,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in BankUnited by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.83 per share, for a total transaction of $32,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,103.06. This represents a 4.81 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. The trade was a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Compass Point boosted their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.45.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU opened at $34.55 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.40. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is a positive change from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 40.26%.

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.