17,075 Shares in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Bought by EntryPoint Capital LLC

Key Points

• EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired 17,075 shares of United Community Banks, Inc., valued at approximately $480,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• Institutional investors currently own 82.29% of United Community Banks' stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• United Community Banks recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.25 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter worth $926,000. Amalgamated Bank bought a new position in United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at about $957,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at about $16,721,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at about $132,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at about $460,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total transaction of $49,999.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 78,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,425,541.30. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on UCB. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.57.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of UCB stock opened at $31.2350 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.43 and a 200-day moving average of $29.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $35.38.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 16.48%.United Community Banks's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. United Community Banks's payout ratio is 45.45%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.