Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 352,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,319 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of BankUnited worth $12,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 37.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 868,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,659,000 after buying an additional 236,174 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 118.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,280 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in BankUnited by 17.4% in the third 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. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the third quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 2nd quarter worth $169,000. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In related news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total value of $421,527.58. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.19% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

BankUnited stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.71. The stock had a trading volume of 972,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,193. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 1.33. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.34 and a 1-year high of $41.65. The stock's fifty day moving average is $36.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.65.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $515.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.65 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BKU. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush upped their target price on BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on BankUnited from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of BankUnited from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.40.

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.