Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 268,515 United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 268,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,675,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $450,141,000. FMR LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,166,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,397,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,495,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,960,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of UCB opened at $27.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.90. United Community Banks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.00 and a fifty-two week high of $35.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.68 and a 200 day moving average of $31.07.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,800 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,012.16. The trade was a 122.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total transaction of $49,963.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,876 shares in the company, valued at $2,220,902.72. This represents a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UCB shares. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

United Community Banks Profile

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.