UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) Shares Acquired by Channing Global Advisors LLC

Channing Global Advisors LLC raised its position in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 654,665 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 121,836 shares during the quarter. UBS Group makes up about 13.3% of Channing Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in UBS Group were worth $20,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in UBS Group in the fourth quarter valued at $354,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in UBS Group by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 6,638 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position 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 valued at $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UBS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UBS Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

UBS Group Price Performance

NYSE:UBS opened at $33.17 on Wednesday. UBS Group AG has a 52 week low of $26.00 and a 52 week high of $35.84. The firm has a market cap of $106.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

UBS Group Increases Dividend

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