American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

American Century Companies Inc. cut its position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) by 28.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,671 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of United Community Banks worth $3,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,151,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,047,000 after buying an additional 92,952 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in United Community Banks by 4.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 101,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after acquiring an additional 4,757 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the first quarter worth approximately $1,728,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in United Community Banks by 27.4% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 378,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,649,000 after acquiring an additional 81,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Capital Group purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at $246,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were 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 owned 78,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,425,541.30. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Community Banks Price Performance

UCB opened at $33.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.36. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $35.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. 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 currently 45.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UCB shares. 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. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.57.

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.