American Century Companies Inc. Invests $5.95 Million in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 184,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,951,000. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.15% of United Community Banks as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at $80,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $174,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $278,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UCB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hovde Group upgraded United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday. Raymond James raised shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

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United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UCB traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.44. 2,290,117 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 654,459. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.79. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.37 and a 1 year high of $35.38. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total value of $49,963.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,220,902.72. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $1,072,017.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,444 shares in the company, valued at $3,805,104.96. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.