Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Position in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,775,955 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 373,194 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.21% of UBS Group worth $205,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter.

UBS Group Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of UBS opened at $33.05 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 1.15. UBS Group AG has a 12-month low of $26.01 and a 12-month high of $35.84.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 billion. UBS Group had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 6.93%. UBS Group’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.09) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is an increase from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas raised UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About UBS Group

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.