United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 11.9%, owning 300,514 shares worth approximately $8.45 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• United Community Banks reported earnings of $0.66 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.61, and has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share.
• Overall, institutional investors currently own 82.29% of United Community Banks' stock, indicating strong support from these entities.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 300,514 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,999 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.25% of United Community Banks worth $8,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,336,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,295,000 after acquiring an additional 404,866 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,151,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $173,047,000 after acquiring an additional 92,952 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,513,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,570,000 after acquiring an additional 59,902 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at $40,871,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $45,527,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.3%

UCB stock opened at $33.41 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.33. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $35.38. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.86.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on UCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,425,541.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

United Community Banks Company 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.

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