American Century Companies Inc. Buys 185,937 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,163,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 185,937 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.88% of BankUnited worth $82,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BKU. Strs Ohio bought a new position in BankUnited during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of BankUnited by 202.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 7,588.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 4,293.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of BKU opened at $47.35 on Wednesday. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.21 and a fifty-two week high of $52.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.43 and a 200 day moving average of $42.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $260.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 9.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on BankUnited from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 price objective on BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Hovde Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total value of $174,703.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,778,283.21. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total value of $254,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,358.08. This trade represents a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BankUnited Profile

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank’s lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.