First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Stock Position in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,429 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,193 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in UBS Group were worth $2,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 61.8% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 118.5% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on UBS shares. BNP Paribas lowered shares of UBS Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of UBS Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Societe Generale raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of UBS traded up $0.39 on Thursday, hitting $26.58. 1,029,213 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,852,278. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.35. UBS Group AG has a one year low of $18.71 and a one year high of $32.13.

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

UBS Group Increases Dividend

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

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.