Cetera Investment Advisers Has $267,000 Stock Holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 696 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in United Community Banks were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UCB. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $271,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $124,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,127,000. Mariner LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,877,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,666,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total value of $49,999.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 78,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,425,541.30. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UCB. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. DA Davidson increased their price target on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group increased their price target on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.57.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $31.2350 on Thursday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $35.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.43 and its 200-day moving average is $29.43.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 16.48%.United Community Banks’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is 45.45%.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.