Cerity Partners LLC Trims Holdings in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS - Free Report) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,822 shares of the bank's stock after selling 37,158 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in UBS Group were worth $2,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UBS. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UBS Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 117,613 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,566,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in UBS Group by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,528 shares of the bank's stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in UBS Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 85,975 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 11,247 shares of the bank's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the bank's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Kepler Capital Markets raised UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America downgraded UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of UBS Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

UBS Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of UBS Group stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,102,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,274,366. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76. UBS Group AG has a 1 year low of $25.75 and a 1 year high of $35.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.00.

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

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 16th. This is a boost from UBS Group's previous annual dividend of $0.23. UBS Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.47%.

About UBS Group

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.