Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 127,886,868 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,296,428 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in UBS Group were worth $3,915,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of UBS Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,019 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,277,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 206,803 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after acquiring an additional 29,367 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $354,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of UBS Group by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 6,638 shares during the last quarter.

UBS Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of UBS Group stock opened at $32.95 on Tuesday. UBS Group AG has a fifty-two week low of $26.01 and a fifty-two week high of $35.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $105.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.70 and a 200 day moving average of $32.17.

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

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UBS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. BNP Paribas raised UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UBS Group presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

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.