Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 2,608 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,608 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of BankUnited worth $2,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 9.2% in the fourth 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. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Hovde Group decreased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.45.

Insider Activity

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. The trade was a 20.89 % 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, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,478.74. This trade represents a 10.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU opened at $34.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.40. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.99.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly 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 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. Equities analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. This is a positive change from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.26%.

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.