Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys Shares of 68,004 United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 68,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,913,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of United Community Banks as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,598,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth $114,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at $204,000. O Dell Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at $345,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at $135,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on UCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of 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. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group upgraded United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.14.

United Community Banks Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:UCB opened at $29.97 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.70. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.93 and a 52-week high of $35.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.50%.

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.

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