BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Shares Purchased by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 593,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 106,942 shares during the period. BankUnited accounts for approximately 1.3% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 0.79% of BankUnited worth $22,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter valued at $30,499,000. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at $18,663,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in BankUnited by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,696,000 after acquiring an additional 322,368 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth about $10,163,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,598,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,392,000 after purchasing an additional 181,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BKU shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler upgraded BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on BankUnited from $50.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.55.

BankUnited Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $33.84 on Friday. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.78 and a 1-year high of $44.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.20. 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 $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.20.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $255.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.35 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti purchased 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.83 per share, with a total value of $32,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,782 shares in the company, valued at $715,103.06. This trade represents a 4.81 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.15% 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.