Northern Trust Corp Takes Position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Northern Trust Corp bought a new position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,409,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,527,000. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.18% of United Community Banks as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UCB. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth $124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Hovde Group raised United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.14.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ UCB traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,225. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.75. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.93 and a 12 month high of $35.38.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is 45.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other news, Director Sally Pope Davis purchased 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,012.16. This represents a 122.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

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.