Exane Asset Management Acquires 221,123 Shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Exane Asset Management boosted its stake in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,241,028 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 221,123 shares during the period. UBS Group makes up about 19.8% of Exane Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Exane Asset Management’s holdings in UBS Group were worth $35,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in UBS Group by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 206,803 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 29,367 shares in the last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $354,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of UBS Group by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 6,638 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of UBS Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,019 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in UBS Group by 17.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,801,000 after purchasing an additional 33,089 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on UBS. StockNews.com downgraded UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

UBS Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE UBS opened at $33.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.39. UBS Group AG has a 52-week low of $26.00 and a 52-week high of $35.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 1.16.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 billion. UBS Group had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that UBS Group AG will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This is a positive change from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. UBS Group’s payout ratio is 15.13%.

UBS Group Company Profile

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.