Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Purchases Shares of 1,085,525 United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,085,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,183,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in United Community Banks by 12.2% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 3,109 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in United Community Banks by 239.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 24,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 17,396 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in United Community Banks by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,805,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,362,000 after acquiring an additional 124,347 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total value of $49,965.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Trading Up 1.5%

United Community Banks stock opened at $33.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.70 and a 12 month high of $36.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.91. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.82.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $278.26 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.65%. United Community Banks’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group cut their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.40.

United Community Banks Profile

United Community Banks, Inc (NYSE: UCB) is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company’s core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.

In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.