Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 62.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,521 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in BankUnited were worth $3,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in BankUnited by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 270.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at about $113,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in BankUnited by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $35.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.34 and a 12-month high of $44.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.40.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. This trade represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.83 per share, with a total value of $32,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,103.06. This represents a 4.81 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.45.

BankUnited 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.