Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in UBS Group AG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has recently increased its ownership of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) by 15.8% during the third quarter, as reported by Holdings Channel.com. After acquiring an additional 28,597 shares in the last quarter, the fund now holds 209,859 shares of the bank’s stock. The value of Assenagon Asset Management's holdings in UBS Group is approximately $6,483,000 as of the end of the most recent quarter.

Additionally, several other institutional investors have also adjusted their stakes in UBS Group. Vanguard Group Inc. enhanced its position by 1.4% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 115,529,381 shares, valued at around $3.55 billion following a purchase of 1,546,632 shares last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its investment in UBS Group by 11.3% in the second quarter, now holding 54,060,137 shares valued at approximately $1.59 billion after buying an extra 5,508,422 shares. Legal & General Group Plc made a significant increase of 11,313.2% during the second quarter, boosting its holdings to 41,389,783 shares, valued at about $1.22 billion after acquiring 41,027,134 shares in that period.

Other notable investors include Capital World Investors, which increased its stake by 3.1% in the first quarter, now owning 38,207,664 shares valued at $1.18 billion after acquiring an additional 1,147,836 shares. Also, Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in UBS Group by 0.9% in the second quarter, now owning 29,951,235 shares worth around $884.76 million after purchasing an additional 280,696 shares.

Analyst Opinions

UBS Group has been the focus of several research reports recently. Bank of America initiated coverage of UBS Group on September 19 with a “neutral” rating. StockNews.com, on the other hand, downgraded UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating on August 23. Currently, four investment analysts have assigned the stock a hold rating, and two have given it a buy rating. According to MarketBeat data, UBS Group holds an average rating of “Hold.”

Recent Stock Performance

On Tuesday, UBS Group’s stock opened at $32.39. The company has experienced a 1-year low of $23.23 and a 1-year high of $32.88. The bank has a market capitalization of $103.84 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 61.10, and a beta of 1.15. Notably, UBS has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, with both a current ratio and a quick ratio of 1.06. Its 50-day moving average is $30.82, and its 200-day moving average is $30.15.

UBS Group last reported its quarterly earnings on August 14, where it announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.34, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $0.12 by $0.22. The bank had a return on equity of 2.14% and a net profit margin of 2.31%. The revenue for the quarter was reported at $11.90 billion, exceeding the analyst estimates of $11.26 billion. In the same quarter of the previous year, UBS Group earned $1.88 EPS. Analysts forecast that UBS Group AG will achieve an EPS of $1.68 for the current fiscal year.

Background on UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG is a global financial services company that provides a variety of financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients around the world. The company operates through five main divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. UBS Group offers services that include investment advice, estate and wealth planning, corporate and banking services, and structured lending solutions.

UBS, Investment, Shares