Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Raises Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 663,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,797 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.89% of BankUnited worth $24,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BKU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 8.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 632,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,517,000 after purchasing an additional 48,059 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the 2nd quarter valued at $799,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in BankUnited in the 3rd quarter worth $443,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in BankUnited in the 2nd quarter worth $515,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 7.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BKU opened at $41.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.88 and a 200 day moving average of $34.77.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 47.54%.

Insider Activity

In other BankUnited news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,911,000. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 34,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,410.66. This trade represents a 6.72 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BKU shares. Barclays raised their target price on BankUnited from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.70.

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.