Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 14,947 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 457,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,947 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.61% of BankUnited worth $10,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 276.7% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 11,101 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 193,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,373,000 after purchasing an additional 34,018 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 21,426.7% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 107,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 107,348 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 68.9% during the 1st quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 45,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $25.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.43 and its 200 day moving average is $24.77. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.83 and a 1 year high of $40.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.78. BankUnited had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 15.26%. The company had revenue of $488.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 14th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BKU shares. Compass Point boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $30.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BankUnited from $23.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. 58.com reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on BankUnited from $25.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.83.

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.