Simplicity Solutions LLC Has $297,000 Stock Position in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Simplicity Solutions LLC lowered its position in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,612 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 710 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in UBS Group were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 61.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in UBS Group by 118.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. purchased a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the third quarter valued at about $48,000.

UBS Group Price Performance

Shares of UBS stock opened at $28.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.19. UBS Group AG has a fifty-two week low of $18.71 and a fifty-two week high of $32.13.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The bank reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.18). UBS Group had a net margin of 43.70% and a return on equity of 7.56%. The company had revenue of $10.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UBS Group AG will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This is a positive change from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.18. This represents a yield of 0.82%. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of UBS Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded UBS Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Societe Generale raised UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.