Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 3,264,214 Shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 422.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,036,921 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,264,214 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.13% of UBS Group worth $122,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in UBS Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,019 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of UBS Group by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 206,803 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 29,367 shares during the period. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the fourth quarter worth about $354,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of UBS Group by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 6,638 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in UBS Group by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,801,000 after buying an additional 33,089 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on UBS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas raised UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Kepler Capital Markets raised UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UBS opened at $34.28 on Friday. UBS Group AG has a 52-week low of $26.00 and a 52-week high of $35.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.88. The firm has a market cap of $109.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 1.16.

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

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This is a boost from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. UBS Group’s payout ratio is 19.08%.

UBS Group Profile

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.