Pictet North America Advisors SA Reduces Stake in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Pictet North America Advisors SA decreased its stake in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 33.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 382,355 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 190,000 shares during the period. UBS Group accounts for 1.1% of Pictet North America Advisors SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in UBS Group were worth $11,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in UBS Group by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in UBS Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in UBS Group by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,624 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

UBS Group Price Performance

Shares of UBS Group stock opened at $33.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.47. UBS Group AG has a 12 month low of $26.00 and a 12 month high of $35.84.

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

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This is a boost from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a yield of 2.1%. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.13%.

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.