Earnest Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,513,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,536,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.3 %

UCB opened at $27.23 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.80. United Community Banks, Inc. has a one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $35.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.53.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is 45.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on UCB. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other news, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $1,072,017.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,805,104.96. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,742.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,012.16. The trade was a 122.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.