Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $2.46 Billion Position in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,211,535 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,039,061 shares during the period. UBS Group comprises approximately 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 2.53% of UBS Group worth $2,462,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UBS Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on UBS. StockNews.com cut UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America lowered shares of UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley downgraded UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UBS Group has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Stock Down 0.8 %

UBS Group stock opened at $30.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 1.15. UBS Group AG has a 12-month low of $26.01 and a 12-month high of $35.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.50 and its 200 day moving average is $32.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 billion. UBS Group had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.93%. UBS Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UBS Group AG will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.47%.

About UBS Group

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions.