Cibc World Markets Corp Invests $266,000 in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in BankUnited by 270.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in 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 period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKU shares. StockNews.com cut shares of BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group reduced their target price on BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. This 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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.07 per share, for a total transaction of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,478.74. The trade was a 10.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BankUnited Price Performance

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

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

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

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.