BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,265,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 414,571 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 4.37% of BankUnited worth $124,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BKU. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in BankUnited by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in BankUnited by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Stock Performance

BKU traded up $0.04 on Monday, hitting $29.82. 1,196,610 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 771,212. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.85. BankUnited, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $44.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.20.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. This is a boost from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of BankUnited from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sanjiv Sobti purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.83 per share, for a total transaction of $32,830.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 21,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $715,103.06. This trade represents a 4.81 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of BankUnited 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.