Natixis Advisors L.P. Acquires 356,742 Shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,444,729 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 356,742 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in UBS Group were worth $137,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UBS. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of UBS Group by 61.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in UBS Group by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of UBS Group by 118.5% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter.

UBS Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UBS traded up $0.49 on Thursday, reaching $26.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,777,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,876,959. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.09. UBS Group AG has a 52-week low of $18.71 and a 52-week high of $32.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.35.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The bank reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.18). UBS Group had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 43.70%. The business had revenue of $10.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UBS Group AG will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UBS. Morgan Stanley raised UBS Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of UBS Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Societe Generale upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group 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.