Royce & Associates LP Buys 36,328 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,149,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,328 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.54% of BankUnited worth $43,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 3rd quarter valued at about $443,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in BankUnited by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 362,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,836,000 after acquiring an additional 10,064 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth approximately $766,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 462.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 22,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 211.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 40,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other BankUnited news, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.83 per share, with a total value of $32,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $715,103.06. This represents a 4.81 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BKU shares. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut BankUnited from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of BankUnited from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.18.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BKU traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $34.69. The company had a trading volume of 658,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.40. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.34 and a 52 week high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

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.