Carlson Capital L.P. Purchases New Holdings in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Carlson Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,700 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $476,000. UBS Group accounts for approximately 0.3% of Carlson Capital L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in UBS Group by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,349,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,771,713,000 after acquiring an additional 3,289,387 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in UBS Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 30,802,466 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $952,104,000 after acquiring an additional 851,231 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in UBS Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,445,068 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $502,398,000 after acquiring an additional 301,394 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in UBS Group by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,708,623 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $423,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,307,033 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in UBS Group by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 7,338,038 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $224,259,000 after acquiring an additional 445,876 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Stock Up 0.8 %

UBS opened at $34.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.81. UBS Group AG has a twelve month low of $26.00 and a twelve month high of $35.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51 and a beta of 1.16.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.08). UBS Group had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The company had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.09) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that UBS Group AG will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This is a positive change from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.08%.

UBS Group Company Profile

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions.