JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,499,112 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 512,218 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 3.34% of BankUnited worth $91,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKU. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 118.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 2,280 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the second quarter valued at $169,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter worth about $181,000. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Stock Up 2.2 %

BKU stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.74. 680,150 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 955,625. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 1.38. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The firm had revenue of $515.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.65 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.54%.

Insider Activity

In other BankUnited news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,911,000. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BKU shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of BankUnited from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.36.

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.