Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,879,780 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,756 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $85,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in United Community Banks by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,336,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,295,000 after acquiring an additional 404,866 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 worth $173,047,000 after purchasing an additional 92,952 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,513,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,570,000 after purchasing an additional 59,902 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth $40,871,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in United Community Banks by 149.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 886,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,944,000 after purchasing an additional 531,058 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total transaction of $50,000.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,226 shares in the company, valued at $2,274,081.98. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Community Banks Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE:UCB opened at $30.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.63. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $35.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $276.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.85 million. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 20.67%.The firm’s revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.68%.

United Community Banks Company 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. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.