American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stake in First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC - Free Report) by 35.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,487 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 14,348 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.84% of First United worth $1,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First United in the fourth quarter worth about $934,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in First United in the 3rd quarter worth about $126,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in First United by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,440 shares of the bank's stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in First United by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in First United by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,893 shares of the bank's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. 33.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First United Price Performance

Shares of First United stock traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.04. 26,513 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,544. The company has a market capitalization of $175.03 million, a P/E ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.58. First United Co. has a 1 year low of $19.17 and a 1 year high of $42.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.09. First United had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 18.45%. As a group, research analysts predict that First United Co. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First United Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. First United's payout ratio is 27.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FUNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded First United from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First United from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th.

First United Profile

First United Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First United Bank & Trust that provides various retail and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals. It offers various deposit products, which includes checking, savings, money market deposit, and regular and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), as well as certificates of deposit.