1,452,922 Shares in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,452,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,871,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.22% of United Community Banks at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in United Community Banks by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total transaction of $49,999.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,425,541.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UCB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.57.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ UCB traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $31.26. The stock had a trading volume of 151,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,757. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business's 50 day moving average is $30.43 and its 200-day moving average is $29.43. 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 cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.83.

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

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

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