Portolan Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 321,566 UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 321,566 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $9,750,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in UBS Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in UBS Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in UBS Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000.

UBS Group Price Performance

UBS Group stock opened at $28.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.16. UBS Group AG has a 52 week low of $25.75 and a 52 week high of $35.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76.

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

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group’s payout ratio is 14.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.