Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 2,044 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 4.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,044 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $1,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in BankUnited by 307.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the second quarter worth $74,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the second quarter worth $169,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 17.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in BankUnited during the second quarter worth about $175,000. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock opened at $43.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.12 and its 200 day moving average is $34.15. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.34 and a 52 week high of $44.45.

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

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In other BankUnited 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 owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush raised their price target on BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

BankUnited Company 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.