Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Invests $443,000 in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 632,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,517,000 after acquiring an additional 48,059 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in BankUnited by 3.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,483,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,542,000 after purchasing an additional 280,993 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP increased its position in BankUnited by 202.7% in the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 60,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,696,000 after buying an additional 40,557 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the second quarter worth about $799,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the second quarter worth about $515,000. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU opened at $42.72 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.12 and a 200 day moving average of $34.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $42.83.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $515.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.65 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKU shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of BankUnited from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total value of $421,527.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,911,000. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.