BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 211.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 40,461 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.08% of BankUnited worth $2,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKU. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 34,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 1.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 48,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in BankUnited by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in BankUnited by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 37,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.6 %

BankUnited stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.70. The stock had a trading volume of 303,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,719. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.36. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.34 and a fifty-two week high of $44.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $38.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The business had revenue of $515.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. BankUnited's payout ratio is presently 47.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush increased their price target on BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded BankUnited from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total value of $421,527.58. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total value of $102,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Profile

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.