Prudential Financial Inc. Has $14.65 Million Stock Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 383,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,500 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of BankUnited worth $14,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 70.0% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 29,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 12,301 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $434,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $777,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in BankUnited by 40.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 275,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,041,000 after purchasing an additional 78,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in BankUnited by 211.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 40,461 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BKU shares. StockNews.com cut BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Compass Point upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.45.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock opened at $35.20 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.40. 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 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,478.74. This represents a 10.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

About BankUnited

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.