Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 531,058 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in United Community Banks, Inc. by 149.3% in the first quarter, raising their ownership to 886,741 shares valued at approximately $24.9 million.
• United Community Banks has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.25, payable on October 3rd, representing a yield of 3.1%.
• Despite positive analyst ratings with price targets ranging from $34.00 to $36.00, the company’s stock is currently trading at around $32.65.

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) by 149.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 886,741 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 531,058 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.74% of United Community Banks worth $24,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 2.9% in the first 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,151,914 shares of the company's stock worth $173,047,000 after acquiring an additional 92,952 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 4.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,513,333 shares of the company's stock worth $42,570,000 after acquiring an additional 59,902 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth about $40,871,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $45,527,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

United Community Banks Price Performance

UCB traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.41. 663,714 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 709,819. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $31.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.38. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.93 and a 1 year high of $35.38. 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 (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS 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 firm's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.25 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. DA Davidson increased their price target 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, Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.57.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total value 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 $2,425,541.30. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.