United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Holdings Reduced by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management reduced its United Community Banks stake by 64.4% in the second quarter, selling 459,712 shares and retaining 254,136 shares worth approximately $8.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.29% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $38.80 target price, despite the latest quarterly earnings miss of $0.71 per share versus the $0.80 estimate.
• United Community Banks raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, implying a 2.9% yield, while two executive vice presidents recently sold company stock.

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Free Report) by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 254,136 shares of the company's stock after selling 459,712 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.21% of United Community Banks worth $8,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UCB. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Community Banks by 130.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UCB. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen raised shares of United Community Banks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered United Community Banks from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $49,968.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,470.52. This represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total value of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,325,502.53. The trade was a 40.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

NYSE:UCB opened at $35.33 on Wednesday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.65 and a 1-year high of $37.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.81.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%. Research analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

United Community Banks Profile

United Community Banks, Inc NYSE: UCB is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company's core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.

In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.

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