Royce & Associates LP Sells 160,373 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Royce & Associates LP decreased its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,089,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 160,373 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.45% of BankUnited worth $48,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKU. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in BankUnited during the first quarter worth about $9,100,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in BankUnited during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 1.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,318,000 after acquiring an additional 6,815 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BKU opened at $46.27 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.64. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.19. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $273.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.57 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $162,388.17. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,765. This represents a 23.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BKU. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BankUnited from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BankUnited presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.27.

BankUnited Profile

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank’s lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.