Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 20,218 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 1.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,719,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,218 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $62,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in BankUnited by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 497 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in BankUnited by 17.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 2.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BankUnited Stock Up 1.8 %

BKU stock opened at $38.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. BankUnited, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $44.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.12 and its 200-day moving average is $35.75.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 9.06%. The business had revenue of $515.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.65 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 47.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Compass Point raised their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

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

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.